California

This was just sent out by e-mail: The School of American Ballet is very pleased to announce the 2017 Workshop Performances, taking place on Saturday, June 3rd at 2:00pm and 8:00pm and Monday, June 5 at 7:00pm. . . . This year's program . . . will feature: Scènes de Ballet Music by Igor Stravinsky Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon Hallelujah Junction Music by John Adams Choreography by Peter Martins Scotch Symphony Music by Felix Mendelssohn Choreography by George Balanchine Performance tickets will go on sale to the public at www.sab.org in mid-April.

I don't fault ABT for using the English translation in hopes that more people would be likely to consider buying tickets. It's not so unusual to change names for that purpose. Some of us are still trying to understand why J.K. Rowlings' first book was sold in the UK as "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" but renamed for US sales to ". . . Sorcerer's Stone." Did they think "philosopher" would be too high-brow and intimidating?

A few more thoughts, triggered by comments from others: Duster spent a lot of time with Cuban company and noted their emphasis on perfect unison in the corps - something she wants to work on. Corella said he would like to do their own sets and costumes someday. These were rented from elsewhere. It was strange that so few took final bows - leads plus 6 corps men. No women from jardin. And the two little boys who joined jardin (same boys at every performance ) deserved their own bows. Sz: those were definitely Corella's own Ali pants, as per the Preludes program Saturday.

I'm in Philadelphia for the first weekend (5 performances) of their new Le Corsaire. For those of you on the east coast, this is definitely worth the trip for the remaining four next weekend. My favorite Medora was Mayara Pineiro, one of the dancers Angel Corella brought in. She was also my favorite in the new Don Quixote last year. So much sparkle, fabulous technique, really exciting to see. She was just as terrific as Gulnare opening night on Thursday. For this ballet, she was partnered by Aleksey Babayev, still a corps member, who turned out to be my favorite of the male dancers. He also did a sizzling Ali Sunday afternoon. Other stand-outs: Jermel Johnson, a long-time company member, who did Lankendem opening night and nothing else (although most seemed to be doing two or even three roles). Arian Molina Soca as Conrad opening night, Lankendem on Friday, and Ali Saturday matinee. Sterling Baca as Ali on opening night, Conrad on Friday, and Lankendem on Saturday night. Mixed performances: Peter Weil on Friday night as Ali had a visible problem lifting Medora overhead near the beginning of the pas de trois in Act II. He seemed to hesitate half way up, then did a deep knee bend and hoisted her the rest of the way. As if to make amends, he was on fire in his variations that followed and was an audience favorite. On Saturday night, Albert Gordon as Ali didn't even try that lift - Aaron Anker as Conrad did it both at the beginning and end of the pas de trois, clearly planned ahead of time. A really nice audience outreach feature: one hour before every performance, they have something called "preludes" open to all ticket holders with a different guest speaker at each and hosted by the marketing manager. Saturday matinee was a special treat, with Corella himself answering questions. He explained that when the rented costumes arrived, he didn't like the costume for Ali so he brought in his personal Ali costume that he had used during his dancing career! All the dancers in that role are wearing it. So if they look familiar, that's why. He also said he wanted the three Odalisques in the third act, so there was more dancing in that act (other than the Jardin Animee). We learned that although Ali is routinely called a "slave," that word has disappeared from the program; Ali is now a "servant." The marketing department took responsibility for that change. At the session with Samantha Dunster (assistant artistic director), we learned that many of the non-dancing extras are parents of students at the Academy, as Corella thought they needed different ages in the crowd. Pasha at all performances is Jon Martin, a teacher at the Academy. The production moves very briskly, with a minimum of mime: 2 hours and 10 minutes, including two intermissions. The sets and costumes were rented, reportedly created originally for the now-defunct International Ballet in Indianapolis. The impressive sets drew audience applause when the curtain went up. The costumes were fine, except for a peculiar tutu on the Odalisques, Gulnare in Act I, and Jardin. The skirt would have reached down to the knee except for a stiff hoop about half way down on the underside. That resulted in some unfortunate developments in partnering when the skirt flipped up toward Gulnare's face. They looked like lampshades with odd fringes to me. Casting for all performances is in the printed program for the run. If I could only go to one more performance, it would be next Saturday evening with Pineiro and Babayev as Medora and Conrad, and Soca as Ali. Sterling Baca fans can see him next Friday as Ali, Saturday matinee as Conrad, and Sunday matinee as Lankendem.

The $60 basic membership at Kennedy Center is a good deal -- priority ticket buying and lots of reminders when those come up on the schedule: http://www.kennedy-center.org/membership/index

I've been a member of the Friends of Lincoln Center for several years (at the lowest level - $100 - mainly to get some slight priority in buying tickets). They are really awful at sending out information to Friends about upcoming summer Festival events. I usually find out about them some other way (this site, e.g.!) We have been told about Jewels (repeatedly!), but nothing else.

Tickets for $39 are for sale on Goldstar-Philadelphia - but only for the final Sunday performance. Perhaps they are optimistic about last-minute rush or have given a lot of tickets to student groups. It occurs to me that serious balletomanes know Corsaire has lots of juicy roles for principals and soloists and is fun to see. But it's not as well-known as, say, Swan Lake or Nutcracker for newbies. So next season goes overboard on work that newcomers are likely to consider attending.

Most modern companies don't perform in large opera houses. Even NYCB needs to bring in the money with Nutcracker to support the rest of the season. And Philadelphia is so close to New York, that serious ballet lovers looking for new work have easy access there. Others here noted a lot of unsold seats for Corsaire, which opens this Thursday, and you have to think there's pressure all around to bring in more audiences next year with sure-things.

It looks to me like he needed (1) blockbusters to bring in paying customers (Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Swan Lake) and (2) Balanchine, to keep that legacy alive. Not much in the way of experimental, high-risk, contemporary work, but not many cities support that.

The 2017-2018 season has just been announced. Here's the web page: http://www.paballet.org/upcoming-programs THE SLEEPING BEAUTY by Angel Corella (after Petipa) Music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky October 12-22, 2017 Academy of Music The classic fairytale brought to life ON EDGE World Premiere by Helen Pickett World Premiere by Matthew Neenan Episode 31 by Alexander Ekman November 9-12, 2017 Merriam Theater New and exciting cutting-edge dance GEORGE BALANCHINE'S THE NUTCRACKER by George Balanchine Music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky December 8-31, 2017 Academy of Music Philadelphia's greatest holiday tradition SWAN LAKE by Angel Corella (after Petipa) Music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky March 8-18, 2018 Academy of Music The most enduring classical ballet of all time GRACE & GRANDEUR Paquita by Marius Petipa For Four by Christopher Wheeldon Theme and Variations by George Balanchine Music by Minkus, Schubert, and Tchaikovsky April 5-8, 2018 Merriam Theater The power and beauty of ballet JEWELS Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds by George Balanchine Music by Fauré, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky May 10-13, 2018 Academy of Music Balanchine's sparkling masterpiec

Their Swan Lake is March 31-April 12, so maybe she'll return for that: https://www.sfballet.org/season/repertory/program-06

Their web site has a page for "rush tickets": http://www.paballet.org/rush-tickets $10 for students & $15 for others, one hour before

The dramatic cuts in NEA's overall appropriation explain much of the decreases. They just don't have the money. And for political reasons, they can't just send it all to NYC, but need to recognize good programs around the country.

The funding history for NEA is here: https://www.arts.gov/open-government/national-endowment-arts-appropriations-history Note that the largest appropriation in the 50-year history of NEA was $175,954,680 in 1992. None of these numbers is inflation-adjusted! (NEH typically gets the identical amount to NEA.) Understanding these budgets can be confusing. Each consists of four elements: (1) direct grants (which includes about 1/3 going to state arts councils), (2) NEA administration, (3) gifts-and-matching funds to match private funds with government funds, (4) challenge grants for buildings and endowments. Regardless of the size of the budget, NEA performs an invaluable service, as does NEH, with its elaborate review process. Only the top ten foundations are big enough to run comparable reviews. So a grant from NEA is a "Good Housekeeping seal" that helps grantees raise additional funding from private sources unable to conduct an extensive review. Even a small grant is a huge benefit that way.

If you follow Kent on Instagram, you saw that she invited Marcelo Gomes to visit the company during rehearsals for some coaching when he was in town for the ABT performances at the Kennedy Center. Kent herself (in soft shoes) demonstrated some things. And, of course, Victor Barbee is also there for coaching. So I'm pleased to see that the results were visible at this rehearsal. As I often say, there is an enormous amount of raw talent in classical dancers in the smaller regional companies and limited opportunities for dancers to perform professionally in this country. When company directors make good programming choices and bring in coaching help, very satisfying performances can result.

Ballet West's season for 2017-18 was just announced. https://balletwest.org/2017-2018-season Aladdin October 19 – October 22 Carmina Burana November 3 – November 11 The Nutcracker 2017 December 2 – December 30 Cinderella February 9 – February 25 With Ashton's choreography! The Shakespeare Suite April 13 – April 21 This includes Kylian (Return to a Strange Land) and Cunningham (Summerspace). National Choreographic Festival May 18 – May 26

The Pennsylvania Ballet just mailed out a postcard that it will be announcing the 2017-18 season "in a few short weeks." But it goes on to say: Does anyone remember if he ever performed this with ABT or other companies?

This just appeared on Steven McRae's Instagram account. He's working with Sarah Lamb on a new ballet with Twyla Tharp. Hoping this will be in the Royal Ballet's 2017-18 season, announced later this spring.

If you're in the NYC area March 4-5, you might be interested in an unusual program: "The Missing Shade of You: A Dance Dialog between L.A. Paul and Marcel Proust" The event is at The Tank, 141 W. 46th St at 7:30 pm: http://www.thetank.nyc.org/ Tickets @$15 are for sale now on-line: http://www.thetanknyc.org/dance/688-the-missing-shade-of-you/ This is a project of the Logos Dance Collective, with several area philosophers discussing the works after the performance. http://aesthetics-online.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=895026

Lincoln Center Festival just sent out e-mail with sale dates for Jewels this July: Monday, February 27: Member levels $1,000 and above Monday, March 6: Member levels $500 and above Monday, March 13: Member levels $100 and above Monday, March 29: General Public No mention of the Bolshoi engagement. I saw an announcement some time back that they will announce the entire series on March 29.

Giselle isn't quite in a league with Swan Lake and Nutcracker, but it seems to sell pretty well - at least, that's my impression on why this shows up on so many programs. For serious ballet lovers, the programs we most want to see seem to struggle to fill the theater - even in NYC, but especially in cities like Chicago (and Denver) that don't have a large, loyal ballet audience. Personally, I'm still hoping that PNB brings back their historic reconstruction of Giselle -- perhaps in 2018-19? I missed it before and would love to see it.

Joffrey Ballet just announced their 2017-2018 season: http://www.joffrey.org/1718season Giselle October 18-29, 2017 Staged by Lola de Ávila Music: Adolphe Adam A sweeping tale of passion beond the grave, de Ávila's visionary Giselle elevates one of the greatest Romantic ballets to new heights. When a young peasant girl discovers her lover is betrothed to another, she dies of grief, only to be enlisted by the vengeful Wilis, a ghostly army of maidens who haunt the forests, dancing to death any male mortal who crosses their path. When her beloved wanders into their grasp, Giselle carries out the ultimate act of love to free him from his fate. An ethereal descent into madness, desire, and sublime beauty that will leave you breathless. Joffrey Premiere Modern Masters February 7-18, 2018 Kammermusik No. 2 Choreographer: George Balanchine Music: Paul Hindemith This iconic Balanchine gem shatters convention with furios energy and stylized movements. A true feat for dancers -- and a dizzying treat for audiences. Joffrey Premiere Body of Your Dreams Choreographer: Myles Thatcher Music: Jacob ter Veldhuis A madcap play on fitness crazes, this inventive piece brings wit and whimsy to our obsession with physical perfection. World Premiere Choreographer: Nicolas Blanc Music: Mason Bates Joffrey Ballet Master Blanc transports us through five mesmerizing worlds amid Bates' lush orchestral and electronic soundscape. Glass Pieces Choregrapher: Jerome Robbins Music: Philip Glass To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the legendary Jereome Robbins' brithday, Glass Pieces is a tour de force from pioneer Robbins and minimalist composer Philip Glass, this electrifying work marries artistry and athleticism to echo the pulse of 1980s metropolitan America. Hailed by the New York Times as "landmark Robbins." Midsummer Night's Dream April 26- May 6, 2018 Choreographer: Alexander Ekman Music: Mikael Karlsson This is not Shakespeare's midsummer. Swedish tailblazer Ekman astounds with this ode to the longest day of the year. Delight in joyful abandon and romance under the Scandinavian sun as dancers celebrate and let their imaginations run wild. A tour de force that took Stockholm by storm. North American Premiere Add on these performances: The Nutcracker December 1-30, 2017 Choreography © by Christopher Wheeldon Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Journey inside Chicago's 1893 World's Fair with Wheeldon's critically acclaimed holiday masterpiece. When young Marie and her mother, a sculptress who is creating the fair's iconic Statue of the Republic, host a holiday party, a surprise visit from the charming Great Impresario sets off a Christmas Eve dream of whirlwind romance and adventure. A must-see tradition boldly reimagined for a new generation. Gala Performance April 20, 2018 Come together to celebrate with our vibrant creative community at this season's breathtaking gala performance, open exclusively to Joffrey subscribers and gala package donors. This special one-hour, one-night-only performance will include pieces hand selected by Artistic Director Ashley Wheater. Celebrate the end of another successful season with the Joffrey community. Don't miss the highly anticipated first-ever collaboration with the Lyric Opera of Chicago! Orphee et Eurydice September 23-October 15, 2017 Fully reimagined by Director and Choreographer John Neumeier Music: Christoph Willibald Gluck One of opera's most beautiful masterpieces, Gluck's exquisite drama introduces us to Orpheus, the poet and musician whose every word and note communicate the most overwhelming love for his Eurydice. Refusing to accept her death, he courageously journeys to the Underworld to bring her back to life. Lyric presents Orphee et Eurydice in the Paris version, which contains thrilling ballet sequences that will come to vivid life under the direction and choreography of the legendary John Neumeier. This highly anticipated production marks Lyric's first collaboration with The Joffrey Ballet.

Here's a more traditional listing, with dates: http://www.operaballet.nl/en/program/ballet?filter=275

This was just posted on Twitter and YouTube:

Colorado Ballet did four performances this weekend and has three more next weekend of its final show of the season at the Caulkins Opera House. For ballet lovers, it's by far the best program of the year. I went to all four to see the different casts. As I suspect few on this site will be in Denver next weekend to see the final three, let me say a few things about the ballets chosen. Yuri Possokhov's Firebird was a great programming choice. I was not crazy about his Optimistic Tragedy for San Francisco Ballet earlier this month, which was too often gimmicky, but this was accessible for lots of audiences with plenty of interesting choreography, especially for the leads. He uses the shorter Firebird Suite (as did Balanchine) and the story was clear and easy to understand throughout. This was apparently one of his first pieces after retiring as a dancer, with an early version in 2004 for Oregon and then in 2007 for San Francisco Ballet. I like the minimalist sets, mostly colorful drops, with a few pieces of hanging scenery. It wasn't as overwrought and pretentious as Ratmansky's version a few years ago. And it had several fun touches and surprise elements, which work with an audience not as familiar with classical ballet as others. The middle piece on the program was Kylian's Petite Mort. I have seen this programmed for a lot of companies in recent years. I first saw it at PNB, paired with Six Dances, which also uses Mozart, Mozart-ian costumes, and the black dresses with a life of their own. It's a work-out for the dancers and they seem to love it, but Mort just seems to stop when the music is over, without any sort of finale or closure that made sense. Colorado showed it with two completely different casts, 12 dancers each, so almost all of the professional dancers got to perform this one. Others have pointed out that Kylian is expensive, so perhaps that's why nobody else performs the pair of works together, which is a shame. (This company has 26 dancers on contract, plus five apprentices, and a large studio company.) The program opened with Serenade. It amazes me that I never get bored with this, no matter how many times I see it. I always marvel at the genius of the choreography -- moving large groups of dancers around stage in interesting and surprising ways, e.g. But I also always think of what it must have been like for Balanchine in 1934 with the odd assortment of dancers he had to work with. I don't mean to suggest that this is an "easy" ballet for anybody, but so much is accomplished with the visual tableau of poses, positions, motifs, etc. that are not as technically demanding as other ballets, at least for the corps. I must note that Maria Mosina, who is retiring at the end of this season, joined the Serenade cast for the Sunday matinee as Russian Girl - of course! What a treat, especially with the symbolism of the ties to Russia of both dancer and choreographer. (She also did Firebird Friday and Saturday nights, partnered by Alexei Tyukov.) At the Vail Dance Festival this summer, the Colorado corps will do Serenade with principals from NYCB. As I have said before, regional companies like Colorado perform such an important role in showing live ballet (with live orchestra) in cities where the big companies like ABT and NYCB never tour. They provide paid professional employment to a wonderful group of dancers. And the orchestra with 46 musicians (!) is always superb.