nanushka

Well the piece isn't on the schedule either — so I'd say dream away, for Simkin or anyone else!

ABT has performed Tchai Pas during spring seasons at the Met as well. Not sure if Vishneva ever danced it there though.

West Side Story was inspired by and loosely based on Romeo and Juliet, but it is very much its own story. The synopsis is here. A musical version of Romeo and Juliet would be quite different. Also, they're using the music and lyrics, so there's that. Presumably there's something about West Side Story itself that drew them to it. I would imagine that, if they haven't already, they may discuss what that was in media interviews leading up to the production's premiere. Virtually all of Shakespeare's plays, of course, were themselves based on earlier stories, so if adaptations should naturally revert to the earliest "original" source, countless artistic adaptations created in the last 400 years would have turned out quite differently (or more likely never have been made). Presumably, something Shakespeare did with those earlier stories inspired the later adaptors to create a work in response; I assume the same is true in this case. "Van," by the way, is not specifically a marker of an aristocratic name. (I believe the same is true of de in the context of Dutch and Flemish names.) The Flemish van does not have the same significance as the German von. Ludwig van Beethoven, for instance, was not of aristocratic origin (though he was at times wrongfully assumed to be), and although he was born and raised in Germany his family was of Flemish origin, hence his name.

I wish they would too, and I wish ABT did the same. The Met online archive is so valuable. One of my great ballet-related regrets is that I didn't save any programs from my first 5 years or so of attending ballet in NYC, even though I was going quite a lot. I just didn't realize yet that the documentation would matter to me as much as for opera (the programs for which I was already in the habit of saving). If ABT had detailed archives, I could just about reconstruct a record of which performances I saw each season, but without that, there's just no hope. It frustrates me so much that my records will never be complete!

For the fall season it often comes out piecemeal (certain works get posted while others are still TBA) rather than all at once.

Thanks for the further explanation. On the final point, I think the history of artistic adaptation would suggest that all elements are disposable — it just varies from adaptation to adaptation which particular elements are disposed of and to what degree. In other words, I don't think this is an affront against the art of choreography; I think it's probably just a particular artistic decision with motivations that we won't be able to fully judge until the final product reaches the stage.

The struggle is real.

(As a side note, how are you finding it? Have a copy, but it’s in a long queue.)

Yes, thanks so much @Hippolyta. Suffering from withdrawal up here in the NYC area, I really appreciate getting a detailed update on the company's performances.

That is definitely the next question I'd have to face — and even if I don't end up using digital photos for programs, I really need to get a handle on the growing folder of unorganized pics. UGGGGH!

Neither. If you pull out the central pages together, the sheets remain neatly folded and intact. (I never tear the sheets, only pull out the central ones from the staples.) I just keep all these folded sets in a stack, and eventually in a box.

I think I’m very likely headed in this direction. Really, it’s the information (both as information and as memory stimulator) not the objects, that are most valuable to me.

I find it interesting and often quite worthwhile to revisit, after a number of years, (certain) dancers in (certain) roles I’ve in the meantime avoided. I’m very glad I saw Seo and Teuscher in this year, despite staying away for a time. (In the case of the former I’ll again stay away for awhile, though I’m not sorry to have seen her this year.) I wouldn’t mind seeing Boylston do it again in a year or two, though I’ve avoided hers for quite awhile.

Sorry, I don't understand the reasoning here. Stage directors aren't qualified to create interpretations of existing works unless they have previously created original works themselves? Those skill sets are quite different, even if they do overlap. How is (for instance) writing a play oneself necessary "practice" for directing a play written by another?

I pull out the central pages with the casting info, which for NYCB and ABT programs (the two companies I see most frequently) leaves me with just a few sheets that include everything I want long-term. I much prefer NYCB programs, because the front page of that central section always has the date and the first piece on the program, making these much easier to reference at a glance in my stacks. I love the performance diary idea, though.

Well, for one thing, I don't think Van Hove and De Keersmaeker are in the business of creating musicals. That's presumably why they are instead creating a new production of an existing work — which is something that's been done with theater works for centuries and has generally not been limited to those who are of the same national origin as the original creators.

If she was truly in costume not sure whether she was going to dance, that’s nuts!

Interesting. Did Misty definitely dance Act III, does anyone know? Was Sarah “on call”?

They may well do, but I see no connection to the situation under discussion, which did not "cool down," as you noted:

No, I really don't think so. This seems like a fundamental misunderstanding of how people actually speak about such relationships. "Friends with benefits" don't date each other for several years and refer to each other as boyfriend/girlfriend. That's a totally different thing.

Some examples that (a) are not metaphorical and (b) use the word "affair," not the phrase "love affair" (which has a rather different connotation), might be stronger in making the point. How people "likely today" speak is precisely what gives certain words and phrases their common meanings/connotations.

@scoutforsythe

Oh, how interesting that they did that. Seems very odd.

When it comes to language and meaning, context (historical and otherwise) is everything.

It's true that affair doesn't necessarily connote an extramarital relationship, though that is one of the things it often does connote. So I wouldn't say the word doesn't have anything to do with marriage. Interestingly, when one follows the link to "LIAISON Sense 2b" in your definition, it says, "An illicit sexual relationship." According to Waterbury, she and Finlay were dating for nearly two years; he is commonly referred to in media reports as her "ex-boyfriend"; and she certainly seems to have trusted him. Whether that trust was justified is another matter, but calling their relationship an affair seems diminishing.