Stecyk

We are talking about Neverland here, remember.. (aka Miami)

True enough. Thank you for your comments!

I usually turn my whole body around and S T A R E with a long, hateful, Joan Crawford look right deep into the offender's eyes. It works more than not.

While I like your approach, that would be a little too confrontational even though it is effective. In reality, none of these steps ought to be required, as the offending party should know better.

I was actually replying to the joke -- asking someone to stop eating and so the chips fall where they may...

Great, thank you, sandik. I outsmarted myself.

Ouch!

Nah. My hope and expectation is that the offending party stops their poor behavior and that's it. Once I either confront or request assistance from an usher, the future events are beyond my control. That is, I can't dictate how the other party will react. Most people, however, when made aware that their conduct is inappropriate, change for the better and get over it.

If roles were reversed and someone brought an usher to correct my behavior of eating during a performance, I would feel rather sheepish and would quickly abide.

This matter is really a small issue.

Well, at least it's not the Kabuki Theater in Japan, where it is not uncommon to see Bento boxes unwrapped and eaten during the performance. I think it's entirely appropriate to mention it to an usher. You may or may not get a response. Both the Met and the State Theater are pretty good about regulating the "no food" issue. Sadly today far too many people come to the theater and behave as if it's their own home, where anything goes. (including putting their feet up on the seats!). I come down on the side of immersing myself in the entire experience of whatever it is that I'm watching. I suppose if one is bold enough and clear enough in one's aversion to another's eating during a performance, then it's also entirely appropriate to say something to the offending person. If, for instance, you are watching "Swan Lake" you might say something like, "I don't think they had wrapped candy in the Prince's Court." Or, "I hope you intend to take that noisy wrapper with you when you leave the lakeside." Or, "You must not have received the memo in your program that Odette is particularly adverse to noisy candy wrappers" Or, "Don't make me ask Rothbart to come up here to this seat and ask for your half sucked candy!" Be creative!

While I like your suggestions, by nature, I tend to be more direct: "I hope my deep immersion in and concentration on the performance isn't affecting your munching on your candies." While that response might be satisfying for a moment, it certainly would not help the situation. So I will have to forego my direct approach.

I would actually suggest otherwise -- you can be direct as long as you're not nasty about it. Something along the lines of "You many not realize that other people hear you eating during the performance -- it's really very distracting."

Just my opinion -- you need to do what you're comfortable doing.

I am going to have ushers or auditorium staff handle the affair.

My simple plan is to have an usher come directly in front of me at about five minutes before the performance begins and tell us, the row behind us, and the row behind them that eating during the performance is not permitted. That way, no one is being singled out specifically, yet the message is delivered. The offending party has offended on more than one occasion. They have seen my head snap around and my head shake in disapproval, so they are well aware that their noises are not appreciated. Furthermore, the party is an acquaintance and is well connected. Thus, I plan to use an usher who can deliver the message forcefully, yet tactfully. Then, just let the chips fall where they may.

I just learned that there is an announcement that food is not allowed or something to that effect. I usually tune out announcements, because I know to turn my cell phone off, not to film or record anything, and to be responsible.

I discussed whether I should confront those behind me by telling them of the rules. I have no aversion to doing so. However, I think the situation might be more diplomatically handled by an usher or by ballet personnel. A simple, no-nonsense reinforcement of the rules should clear up any issues. Furthermore, the people don't know with confidence who informed the ushers.

The crinkling of wrappers was driving me nuts, especially as they crinkled them during some of the quieter portions of yesterday's performance.

Dirac, I saw your post about the Florida guy. Absolutely tragic. It's amazing that people can get through life without having had to make appropriate "proportional responses" before. Perhaps it's like road rage, where a seemingly innocent issue completely takes over.

The WSJ article is entertaining, with some of the reader comments accompanying the article even more so.

I agree, Fraildove. Intuitively, I would think that others would realize that their eating habits are disturbing to others. Yet, they seem not to care. These are very good seats, too. It's odd challenge.

Thank you, Helene. Unfortunately, I believe the decorum at our auditorium is more flexible. I haven't seen any signs posted not to bring food or drink into the seating area. I bring along purchased water to drink during the intermissions.

I don't see an easy solution. Without a direct conversation, my body language has conveyed my displeasure. Yet, as soon as I confront the person verbally, no matter how nicely I attempt to do that, the situation is raised to a higher level. As mentioned, I am wanting to make a smaller issue into a bigger issue.

There's always the possibility that if I can't beat them, I can join them. Perhaps they wouldn't enjoy my disturbance. The only problem is that I don't want to inconvenience others around me.

I have a hunch I am just going to have to "suck it up."

Often when I am watching a performance, the people behind me are munching on something. I can hear the crackle of their wrappers as they eat licorice or whatever. Is this normal behavior? And, if not, is there anything that can be done?

By nature, I enjoy quiet--especially when I am immersed in something. I am usually engrossed in watching a performance, yet my ears pick up on the noises behind me.

I have a hunch that this is my problem, one that I will have to live with or learn to tune out. There was a recent Wall Street Journal article on a similar theme: "Annoyed by Loud Chewing? The Problem Is You." [subscription might be required] Granted, I don't hear the chewing noises, but I do hear the crinkling of the wrappers. So perhaps it is just me.

I have looked back a few times during their eating, so they definitely know I am not impressed by their behavior. Yet, it doesn't stop them. I could confront them with a discussion. My fear, however, is that the person says, "I enjoy eating my snacks during the performance; too bad for you."

I am not interested in making a federal case out of this situation. That is, I don't have any inclination on approaching the ballet company to intervene on my behalf. I don't want to make a small issue become a big issue.

Any advice?

Thank you Drew for your response. I can't imagine being in Filin's position with degraded eyesight and having to secure other work.

What does the future hold for Sergei Filin? Will he continue to be associated with the Bolshoi in some capacity?

Ashton Fan, your wish is my command.

I have created the following post:

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/your-reaction-romeo-and-juliet-in-cinemas-and-on-bp-big-screens-2015#comment-28(currently awaiting moderation)

Many of us who reside in Canada had a frustrating experience in trying to find the appropriate cinema and appropriate time. There was confusion between attending Landmark and Cineplex theaters. There is a long thread on Ballet Alert forum detailing some of our concerns. Here's the link to the thread:

http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/40541-romeo-and-juliet-roh-2015-in-cinemas/

While I recommend reading all pages, I think you'll find Page 3 most useful.

Please feel free to follow up by email.

Might I suggest that you post some of your comments about the problem with the Royal Ballet's cinema exposure in North America on the ROH's website where they invite comments on the performances.Someone might notice it there. It is always difficult to know how much information gets back to the people at the top.about the sort of thing that you are describing.I suspect that very little does. It is my impression that the marketing department would be more aptly described as the department that counts the bums on seats at the Royal Opera House.

I looked for a place at ROH to provide input on the theater experience. I thought it should exist on this page somewhere: http://www.roh.org.uk/cinemas

After looking for a bit, I came up blank. Perhaps it is there somewhere.

I would expect that the marketing department and/or marketing agency is aware of attendance data on a per theater and per regions basis--for example, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and North America regions. If you're familiar with Microsoft Excel, they might even have a complex Pivot Table that can slice and dice the data in every way imaginable. Given the number of theaters, they are most likely interested in trends, not necessarily specific customer experiences. That is, is the attendance in Canada up or down from last year? Does the attendance trend warrant further exploration or changes to the theater line-ups?

My complaint with a specific theater regarding its marquee sign displaying the wrong start time is likely of little interest, because they simply can't track every individual theater complaint. If I have a complaint with the marquee sign, I should take it up with Landmark.

Even though I (and presumably Cineplex) have contacted ROH by phone to notify them that their theater list is inaccurate, I note that their website still lists four theaters for Calgary, when there are only two theaters. Possibly Canada is just too small of a market to be concerned about.

This is a long-winded message to say that I think they likely have most of the data they need to evaluate and make any desired changes. However, if I have overlooked a location on the ROH to provide input on the theater experience, please feel free to send them a message with a link to this thread. I also have an orphaned thread on this topic: http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/40673-no-royal-ballet-in-calgary-theatres/

Thank you Ashton Fan for your suggestion. Let's hope that ROH makes changes for next year.

Last year, all ROH performances shown in Calgary were at the two Landmark theaters: Country Hills, located in the extreme northern end, and, Shawnessy, extreme southern end. Prior to last year, ROH performances were shown at Cineplex. The Bolshoi performances are still shown at Cineplex. When attending Bolshoi performances, I go the Scotiabank Chinook Theater, which is located in the southern Calgary.

I didn't attend any of the ROH performances last year, as I thought the location was too inconvenient. Prior to last year, I noted that both ROH and Bolshoi were well attended at Cineplex, with perhaps Bolshoi attracting a slightly larger audience. Last year, the Bolshoi performances were very well attended, in part because Alberta Ballet students began attending. For those who didn't purchase their tickets in advance, they risked arriving at a sold-out theater. That happened to me once, though fortunately I was able to drive across to other Cineplex theater in northern Calgary. I learned my lesson and now buy my tickets in advance.

Today we attended Romeo and Juliet at the Shawnessy Landmark theater. The theater itself is fine, though a little far away. When we arrived, I noted that the marquee sign announced Romeo and Juliet began at 12:55 pm, the typical start time for Cineplex. Our tickets said 11:00 am. Fortunately, our tickets were correct and the marquee sign was wrong. We were about early by a bit more than a half hour and were the first to enter Theater Nine. At Cineplex, it's not uncommon for people to begin claiming their seats an hour prior to showtime. While we were watching the promotions of upcoming features to be shown in the months ahead, we were surprised to see that they were Cineplex features. The promotions literally had "Cineplex" written across the bottom of the screens. That's like walking into a Ford dealership and seeing advertisements for Chevrolet. At about ten minutes prior to showtime, there were about five people, including ourselves, in attendance. When the performance began, I counted about 13 people in attendance. Because of all the confusion, including the wrong start time on the marquee sign, I am not sure if 13 was representative of Shawnessy's attendance last year. If it is representative, I am certainly surprised ROH didn't switch back to Cineplex.

Aside from the low attendance, we enjoyed Romeo and Juliet. I will leave the review to others more capable.

For example, four simultaneous screenings in Calgary (pop. 1.1 million) strikes me as excessive, especially since the hometown Alberta Ballet has never shown much inclination to promote ballet screenings, as far as I can tell. I hope it works out.

As you've outlined in a prior post, it's only being shown at Landmark theaters in Calgary. Alberta Ballet, however, does have its students attend the Bolshoi performances at the Chinook theater. I am not sure about performances shown at Landmark as I don't attend those.

This is certainly a confusing and disappointing arrangement.

Stecyk, while you were going through your saga, volcanohunter has found out that Landmark theatres are showing R&J in Calgary. See this post:

http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/40541-romeo-and-juliet-roh-2015-in-cinemas/?p=361830

Thank you kbarber for that helpful information. I completely missed the other thread. That information explains why it isn't being shown at Cineplex.

Edit: The ROH website shows both Cineplex and Landmark Calgary theaters showing the Romeo and Juliet performance.

I was delighted to see on Cineplex's Dance Series' website that it was once again hosting the Royal Ballet performances. When we tried to purchase our advance tickets this past Sunday, the Cineplex site informed us that Romeo and Juliet was not playing in Calgary, let alone at my usual theater. Using Cineplex's chat service on Monday, I complained that there appeared to be a mistake because Calgary was missing. We know from past years' performances that these performances are well attended. The Cineplex employee informed me that someone would reach out to me soon with an explanation.

Today, Friday, after not receiving any word, I called Cineplex and was informed that it was the Royal Ballet's decision as to where performances are shown. Cineplex doesn't govern which theaters show the performances. That sounded odd to me, because I would expect both parties to have input as to where performances are shown. Moreover, because Calgary's Chinook Theater has strong attendance, I expected that it would continue to be included. After my call with Cineplex, I went to the Royal Ballet's website where it lists participating theaters. I plugged in "Calgary" for my location and up came four local theaters, not just the usual two. So a phone call back to Cineplex. I explained my steps with the websites, prior experiences with good attendance, and sound reasoning why Calgary should be included. I expected that there was some miscommunication.

The person promised to check again. While she was checking, I phoned the Royal Ballet. The person I spoke to mentioned that they have an agency that addresses their theaters. He would pass along the information and have someone get back to me. Shortly afterward, I received an email from Cineplex stating that the Cineplex information is correct: There are no Royal Ballet performances being shown in Calgary. (The Nutcracker is an exception.) Cineplex will be contacting the Royal Ballet to update its website. I am still waiting to hear back from the Royal Ballet or its agency.

Edmonton, just two hours north by car, will have Royal Ballet performances, but not Calgary. Perhaps this remains a spillover from last year when the Royal Ballet wasn't being shown in any Cineplex theaters. Nonetheless, I won't be going to Edmonton just to see this performance. I can only hope that Calgary is added to the roster again soon.

For those interested, there is a scholarly article titled, "The Effects of 17 Weeks of Ballet Training on the Autonomic Modulation, Hormonal and General Biochemical Profile of Female Adolescents."

This study aimed to examine the alterations in physiological and biochemical markers, after 17 weeks of ballet training in high level ballet dancers. Twenty four female ballet dancers from 12 to 15 years old took part in the study. The study followed 17 weeks of ballet training and analyzed changes in body composition, the autonomic nervous system and biochemical variables before and after (post) training. The internal training load was obtained using the session rating of perceived exertion (session-RPE) method, calculated as the mean weekly session-RPE, monotony and strain. After 17 weeks of training there were significant increases in body mass, height, lean body mass, total protein, urea, hemoglobin concentration, testosterone and thyroxine. During this period, decreases in relative body fat, uric acid, red blood cells, C-reactive protein, and ferritin were also found. After the training period, the autonomic modulation demonstrated significant positive alterations, such as increases in parasympathetic related indices. Based on the results obtained we concluded that ballet training led to improvements in body composition and autonomic modulation. In general hematological and biochemical variables demonstrated that the training did not have adverse effects on the health state of the adolescents.

Key words: body composition, autonomic nervous system, ballet training, youth dancers.

This complete 11 page PDF article is freely available, at least as of this writing.

I haven't read the article and, if I had, likely wouldn't have understand much of it. I thought, however, that others might find this article beneficial.

Jonathan Ollivier, former Alberta Ballet dancer, killed in London traffic collision (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

The lead ballet dancer of the current show at London's prestigious Sadler's Wells theatre has been killed in a traffic accident as he rode his motorcycle to the performance.

...

Ollivier trained at the Rambert School of Dance and had been a principal dancer at Cape Town Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre and the Alberta Ballet.

Executive Martin Bragg and the Alberta Ballet have parted ways.

http://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/local-arts/executive-director-bragg-leaves-alberta-ballet

"We had a tough year last year, ” he said, “with the cancellation of the (long-planned second) Joni Mitchell ballet, and that really hurt us financially.

“We basically said, we’ve got to recover from that,” he said, “and where can we make some cuts and changes?”

Just received this notification in my email. For those that follow Alberta Ballet, this might be of interest.

Alberta Ballet Announces Departure of Executive Director Martin Bragg

It is with regret that Alberta Ballet announces the departure of our Executive Director, Martin Bragg. Martin is the ultimate Renaissance man, whose unique expertise wove business and arts together in an extraordinary way. His visionary leadership catapulted Alberta Ballet to new heights, surpassing all those before him. Through his exceptional leadership, Martin expanded Alberta Ballet to all communities across Alberta, ensuring a rich cultural fabric for years to come.

Prepared by the Board and supported by Artistic Director Jean Grand-Maître and the leadership team, a transition plan is in place to ensure Alberta Ballet's strategic plan stays on course. During his tenure at Alberta Ballet, Martin built a dynamic and committed team who remain in place.

We invite you to reach out and connect with our Interim Executive Director, Board Chair, Dawn McDonald.

I am not sure of the appropriate location for this post, so please feel free to move it.

NewsChannel KFor.com has an article titled, Mother’s email leads to disabled children dancing with New York City Ballet dancers.

Be sure to watch the video. I found it takes a while to load. On my PC, I had difficulty making video full screen. On my iPad, it was easy. I don't understand why there's a difference. Perhaps you'll have better luck.

The video is a heartwarming story about the power of dance. That's it, just a simple, short story.

I think it's great when others give of themselves to make the world a better place.

As an aside, for all American readers, Happy Fourth of July!

BloombergBusiness: The Banker and Ballerina: How Goldman Partner Waltzed Misty.

Congratulations to Misty!

The champagne is chilling under the Chagalls at the Metropolitan Opera House as Valentino Carlotti awaits his brightest star, Misty Copeland.

Backstage, Copeland is preparing for her New York debut in the double role of Odette/Odile in “Swan Lake,” a performance that would end with thunderous bravos for a phenom who on Tuesday was named a principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre, the first African-American woman to hold the title.

Carlotti, in his small way, helped get Copeland here. Part adviser, part benefactor, he’s played a subtle behind-the-scenes role in the Great Misty Show -- a rare confluence of raw talent, hard work and savvy management that’s made her one of the most popular ballerinas of our time.

Thank you Kathleen for providing the link.

The Wall Street Journal has an article, "Misty Copeland’s Possible Promotion at American Ballet Theatre Is Talk of Dance World," in its New York Culture section. A subscription might be required to view the article.

(Please see next entry by Sandik, who mentions that this topic is being covered elsewhere.)

Ms. Copeland is a soloist, a notch just below principal dancer, with American Ballet Theatre. If promoted to principal, she will be the first African-American woman to reach the top rank at the 75-year-old company—and one of the few to achieve that status within classical ballet in the U.S.

Speculation about Ms. Copeland, whose pop-culture profile has soared in the last year, is mounting. New principals are typically announced at the end of the company’s run at the Metropolitan Opera House—coming this season on July 4. And Ballet Theatre’s top ranks thinned this year with the retirement of three female principals, leaving just six.

Ms. Copeland, at age 32, is dancing principal roles. Last week, she made her debut as Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet.” On Wednesday, she will dance the lead role in “Swan Lake” for the first time with Ballet Theatre at the Met. In 2012, choreographer Alexei Ratmansky selected her as one of three rotating leads in “Firebird.”

The Telegraph: Misty Copeland: meet the ballerina who rewrote the rules of colour, class and curves.

Misty Copeland can pinpoint the precise moment when she realised her success in ballet held a broader significance. “It was the night I danced The Firebird at the Metropolitan Opera House in June 2012. I had never seen an audience that was 50 per cent African-American. It was overwhelming to know that so many of them were there to support what I stood for.”

For those interested, please follow the link to read the complete article.