puppytreats

Every day at 6 PM Eastern time, there is a free performance lasting about 45 minutes at the Kennedy Center for the performing arts, usually on the Millennium Stage at one end of the foyer along the western side of the building. (Sometimes the performance gets moved, for example to the Family Theater upstairs; the Farrell Ballet itself has performed in that superior venue a few times.) On 23rd September, dancers from the company will preview their upcoming 10th Anniversary season, 12-16 October. Admission is free - no ticket required for this event, although sometimes Millennium Stage events are ticketed - and if I could go, I'd go early.

I expect to watch the live webcast while in Chicago instead, but, having said that, I should add that in my experience, these are sometimes pretty good, such as the one of 30th September 2010, and sometimes, sad to say, they can be amateur in the worse sense, which may be the reason the last ones of the Farrell Ballet, from 19th and 20th September 2009, if I remember correctly, aren't available in the archive. (I saw the webcasts as they happened, and I remember that one of the camera operators had a good eye, but the rest of it was a shambles - a disservice to the performers and the audience. I guess some one at the Kennedy Center agreed.)

Are all performances webcasted live or just Farrell? Can you provide a link for the webcast?

Is an ipad preferable to any other brand device?

What about a smart phone?

A fine opera cape at 412: for the upcoming season.

That cape is a killer. I really think it should be mandatory for men to wear capes to the opera!

Albrecht

Does anyone have any recommendations for electronic devices for use in watching streaming videos of ballet performances (e.g., from youtube)? I understand certain devices connect computers to television screens, and I am considering purchasing one of these to enable me to watch more ballet without being tied to my desk. Alternatively, I am considering buying an ipad or similar mobile device.

I watched the Works & Process presentation on the YAGP this weekend and was really impressed by Aran Bell, the 12 year old winner. The judges were so encouraging and diplomatic in their criticism. I expected them to be more harsh, particularly in light of the general stereotype of ballet instructors.

I want to buy the $19 tickets at the Joyce Theatre to see the Farrell Ballet Company, but the program won't be out until the end of September. How long is safe to wait to buy tickets?

I have appreciated certain recent Macaulay articles, including today's on the Degas exhibitions. However, I do not understand this quotation:

"whereas balletomanes deplore alternative renditions of the same step, Degas relished them too."

We have seen examples of and heard about the examinations of children's bodies. However, I fail to understand how examining a child will yield information about future development. How many tall children are told they will be basketball players when they grow up, then stop growing? How many beautiful children have faces that become plain when they are older? How many tiny children cause their parents to fear, and then end up taller than all the other children in their neighborhood?

I reviewed the SUNY Purchase brochure today, and was excited to see that Corella Ballet was scheduled to perform, until I looked at the price of tickets. Then, I remembered why I rarely attend cultural events, even though I live in NYC. Even if the economy were not struggling, I still would not routinely expend such sums on tickets; I would only pay for expensive tickets on a special occasion. This is another reason why attendance is so poor, and ballet companies are struggling. (I don't know if this post belongs in the thread on marketing of dancers or other threads discussing funding the arts.)

The price range of $54-$70 isn't actually that bad, especially compared to London where ticket prices can reach the $200+ mark for a best seat ticket. The thing is though live performance costs a great deal and it's part of the joy and immediate pleasure of what makes dance, and in truth the Corella ballet is a good deal cheaper than a show on Broadway, a musical or indeed ballet in the city centre.

But one thing is certain without those prices live performance simply couldn't exist.

Double the ticket price for a couple, and then add $16 for tolls, x for gas, x for parking, and perhaps x for clothing and a babysitter. The price may be relatively cheaper than other entertainment and even necessary for the ballet's budget, but still too high for many fans' budgets. Regardless of the pleasure I would obtain, I cannot justify it, particularly when I have an elderly parent at home on a fixed budget with inflation increasing his costs but not his income, and nieces and nephews with a range of needs.

I reviewed the SUNY Purchase brochure today, and was excited to see that Corella Ballet was scheduled to perform, until I looked at the price of tickets. Then, I remembered why I rarely attend cultural events, even though I live in NYC. Even if the economy were not struggling, I still would not routinely expend such sums on tickets; I would only pay for expensive tickets on a special occasion. This is another reason why attendance is so poor, and ballet companies are struggling. (I don't know if this post belongs in the thread on marketing of dancers or other threads discussing funding the arts.)

J.Crew goes to the Mariinsky:

http://www.jcrew.com/womens-clothing.jsp

And male-model-of-the-moment Arthur Kulkov (Russian born but Brooklyn bred) in St. Petersburg:

http://www.jcrew.com/mens-clothing.jsp

Miliosr,

We can always depend on your for great ballerini/model and magazine info! Your nightstand must be a real treasure trove.

Loved those costumes you posted about the other day. The makeup needed some work though.

I don't understand J. Crew. If the cashmere is Italian, you know who the model should be :< What a lost opportunity. And not enough ballerina pink and baby blue cashmere in that catalogue. The M/K photos were great, though!

Oddly, I looked at the label on my 15 year old cotton shorts last night, and the brand was "Barishnikov". They definitely did not come from a ballet clothing store, so I am really wondering about their origin now.

Regarding male model of the moment -- a real disappointment. He reminds me of "Jersey Shore." (While I admit to the low-brow nature of this post, I cannot be accused of every having watched that show!)

there's actually a great deal more available than you'd think on youtube, you just have to know how to search.

Do you generally frame your initial inquiries in a very general or very specific manner?

Thank you for the links. I had been to some, but not most, of them and rarely think to explore them. I have been enjoying the sites quite a bit.

Youtube seems to have so many fans, but I find the experience of watching snippets to be very unfulfilling. I am grateful for what it provides, but dissatisfied with the quality, insufficient indexing, and limited scope of clips on youtube. I think an online library of performed ballets, lectures, workshops, and classes would improve attendance.

Youtube is the antithesis of what dance is about. Live performance, a video will never give anything but a vague impression however it's useful as a point of reference, especially for dance history and there's actually a great deal more available than you'd think on youtube, you just have to know how to search.

There are actually many online libraries and resources for dance online. Certain choreographers' work, however, is rights protected and can't legally be put online, the problem isn't with there not being the resources, the crisis facing dance attendance is far more involved and complicated.

Stories such as the Korean ballet for the homeless is nice, sure, but it's not going to bring in new audience members to an expensive art form which most of the public feels no connection or relevance to. Also Korea isn't a world ballet centre they do however have a couple of nice companies.

The performances and works are not legally put online because the owners of the rights choose to prohibit it, thinking this will enhance monetary value. Rarity makes certain things more valuable, but hoarding rights and limiting access may need to be reconsidered. On the other hand, perhaps some in our society seek to limit access to the arts to an elite, select few, returning ballet to a court activity.

The point about the homeless in Korea was about the value of dance and access to this knowledge. Enhanced awareness of this value and other efforts to increase exposure to dance could lead to greater interest in the art form and a more widespread belief in its relevance.

A tutorial about the great deal more that you indicate is available online would be helpful and appreciated!

Youtube seems to have so many fans, but I find the experience of watching snippets to be very unfulfilling. I am grateful for what it provides, but dissatisfied with the quality, insufficient indexing, and limited scope of clips on youtube. I think an online library of performed ballets, lectures, workshops, and classes would improve attendance.

I (mostly) agree with Simon that the arts is business these days, but I think that is far more true in the Anglo-Saxon free market world (UK and US) than it is in mainland Europe, where societies tend to value their artists more highly. Take Germany, where every sizeable city(and many towns too) has its opera house, concert hall and ballet company, along with schools and conservatories dedicated to the arts. Take Dortmund and Essen for example, industrial towns only 30 miles apart, and both have world class concert halls as good as anything you will find in London. The audiences are generally better informed, happy to be taxed at a higher level to subsidize the arts and far more open to new ideas and challenging innovations. I don't know how they do it but it's an environment which enables considerable artists (Cranko or Forsythe) to spend years developing their ideas rather than being replaced after one season because they "don't sell".

So while I agree the market is everything in the US and UK (and I know some German friends who fear their economic woes mean things are moving in the same direction in continental Europe) we should not simply accept that is the only way it can ever be.

See the article in today's links regarding teaching ballet to homeless people in S. Korea.

It sounds as if you are talking about business, not art. Nevertheless, since when has merit been the primary virtue or subject, in any venue? (Monday mornings apparently make me very cynical :< Next, I will be told I am disrespectful and will be kicked off this board....)

I watched "Only When I Dance" and "The Dancer" today. I was disappointed by "The Dancer", finding that it lacked any depth. I thought "OWID" was one of the best dance movies that I have seen.

Questions:

1. In "OWID", Irlan Silva danced a piece called, "Nijinsky", in which the dancer commits suicide. I have not read about his life ending that way. Is the choreographer making some kind of suggestion about institutionalization being a form of suicide, or is suicide only a satisfactory ending from a dramatic, literary, or plot viewpoint? Who choreographed this piece and who has performed it?

2. Does anyone have any update on Mr. Silva's career? His biography is not on the abt.org website anymore, although his picture remains.

3. In "The Dancer," the prima ballerina who coached the student seemed to bouree from the upper, inner thigh, while the student seemed to move more from the lower part of her legs. Is this a function of age or technique?

Dracula, I suppose.

Now a Fall of the House of Usher ---

I saw a clip of "Fall of the House of Usher" by the Royal Ballet on tv a few weeks ago. It was not impressive and not very goth.

I would think that a choreographer would have to be to FEEL the movements as he creates and connects them. It's not enough to visualize what the should look like.

That means working from inside the body. Being able to empathize with what the dancer is experiencing as he or she attempts to create the look. This would be especially important when it comes to linking movements.

Think of all the wonderful photos of Balanchine creating new work by demonstrating, so elegantly, the essence of a movement for the dancers. Those moments have always struck me as being essentially collaborative. Dancer and choreographer are linked by the shared knowledge of what it is to dance.

I think this need for understanding is also why adults study ballet; it helps to understand the language and the feeling that one is attempting to convey with words and phrases.

Mr. PT wants to know if there is a "goth ballet."

What is the name of the step or combination of steps where a dancer places the front foot a foot length in front of the back foot, with the front foot facing out, and then leans on the back foot, with arms apart and hands pointing out, before going into a series of turns? I know this description is not clear, but it seems to be a very common thing, so I think maybe someone can figure out to what I am referring.

I'll help with the kitty :>

Simon G,

1. Do you go overseas to see all these international ballets, or do you have access online somehow? I would love to have this ability :>

2. Doesn't schadenfreude involve an element of revenge? How come someone take pleasure in the failure of someone who simply performs in successively higher roles and positions as directed and appointed, and then is disfavored, unless (a) she did something harmful intentionally to someone or (b) the competitors are petty and jealous? (I cannot fully understand schadenfreude in situations involving revenge, because I cannot understand taking pleasure in someone's pain or loss, but that is another issue not for this board. Here, I am trying simply to understand your selection of language and your position.)

3. Why would a lyrical soloist not match a classical or Petipa repertoire? I thought, within the structure of classical ballet, a lot of the sections were lyrical in nature.

4. What aspects of La Scala's schedule differ from the KM to suit these abilities, or does the audience in Milan simply have different tastes?

5. Can you describe the views of different schools regarding hip position in arabesque and attitude?

Thank you, Helene (and for your comment, Sandik). I've been doing these for four years now -- 4 lectures a season, keyed, at least loosely, to what the Kennedy Center is presenting. Some topics or questions have been suggested by the regulars.

It's fun, not very expensive, and I invite anyone who reads these boards and lives in the area to attend! It's fun to meet Ballet Alertniks!

Are the lectures streamed over the internet?