Brioche

A long over due update on OBC. http://oaklandballet.org/wp/

My pleasure Gina. I was also thrilled to see a very short moment of Jocelyn dancing.

San Francisco Ballet -In Memory of Virginia "Ginny" Johnson 2011

I couldn't watch the entire clip. It was entirely too painful to watch Lopatkina show such disrespect and basically waste Makarova's time (and everyone else who was in the studio.) Even renowned diva and editor of Vogue magazine Anna Wintour managed to put on a "happy face" for The September Issue documentary.

AND the audience appreciated it and the curtain calls were wonderful.

As with so many ballets of this "ilk" once the orignal cast is no longer available (IMHO) it should be retired from the repertory. "Nana" was tailored/created to a specific dancers abilities and talent and knowing the original "Nana" very well, what she brought to the role also reflected where she was at professionally and more importantly (and painfully), personally. My heart broke watching her "open that vein" publicly. However...... life experience (good AND bad) can be so beneficial to ones art form. I did not know Loscavio personally, but she was one of the greatest dancers anywhere, ever, and her abrupt departure for Hamburg was a tragedy. I saw her many times, most dazzlingly in Ballo, Rubies, Tarantella, Theme and Variations...and above all in the turning variation from Who Cares?, in which she is the only dancer I've ever seen or heard of other than Marnee Morris, the creator of the role, to do each and every gorgeous impossible original step. Her candor, technical brilliance, fire, honesty, and charisma onstage were riveting in every part. I am sure that Nanna's Lied was amazing with her; it may also have had better singing than the lamentably inadequate, utterly esthetically bankrupt performance I heard in the recent run (with Van Patten, who was in fact good). Lenya is irreplaceable, of course, but even so. The ballet is not something which imposes itself; it's intended to be elliptical and suggestive rather than clear, I believe. perhaps it should be retired, since so many audience members seem unwilling to give it any benefit of the doubt. jsmu - I will be sure to pass on this post to Elizabeth. I first saw her in class when she was seven years old (her older sister was a wonderful dancer too) and we all knew she had "it" then. Hamburg was a wonderful place for her to be. As you may know it is a company that celebrates dancers as the get older and the repertory suited all of her (formidable) talents quite well. Plus she met and married a wonderful man (a dancer) and has two gorgeous children AND she's a terrific mom and very happy retired and living in place she loves very much. I do miss her greatly. Best, B

As with so many ballets of this "ilk" once the orignal cast is no longer available (IMHO) it should be retired from the repertory. "Nana" was tailored/created to a specific dancers abilities and talent and knowing the original "Nana" very well, what she brought to the role also reflected where she was at professionally and more importantly (and painfully), personally. My heart broke watching her "open that vein" publicly. However...... life experience (good AND bad) can be so beneficial to ones art form.

From Macaulay's review in the NY Times: Perhaps Mr. D'Amboise wasn't clear in stating how he worked with Graham, but does Macaulay not know how to use a search engine? I am certain that there is a chance that he didn't dance in the movement Graham created, however he may observed rehearsals even so.

Off topic (a bit) yes Kirkland looks "real skinny" and I'm not sure when she didn't..anywho..there is much to love about her in that Wolf Trap video in Don Q AND the Coppelia 3rd act variation is quite something. :-)

Never mind.

Well my post hasn't been deleted in fact a dialogue with SFB on Facebook is taking place regarding this standing room ticket price. $20 for a regular performance is absurd and they are gouging the true fans of ballet. The SF Opera is still at $10.

I posted a link to this discussion on their Facebook page. Lets see how long it stays up.

I won't take credit for your refund YouOverThere - however after reading about your experience with the ticket office here, and having been a ticket office manager (and still working in a business that costumer satisfaction is key) I emailed the ticket office manager a lengthy correspondence in regards to their less then stellar performance and sited this website in regards to how far and wide we can communicate a bad (or good) experience. I noticed today that there is a $5 credit from the Colorado Ballet on my credit card account, so it appears that they have refunded the will call fee.

Lew Christensen choreographed it for the San Francisco Ballet in 1958 with various revivals of it in to the 1970's and televised I believe. http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=7084 Scroll down to the second photograph of Cynthia Gregory and Robert Gladstein in the main roles (1964.)

Stuttgart, Hamburg, Paris and now ABT.....yeah, that's infrequent.

Dating myself here - Two more SFB women: Sabina Alleman - gorgeous (still) in the manner of Rita Hayworth and Evelyn Cisneros - lovely to look at onstage, but always took my breathe away more when I encountered offstage at high end parties and fundraisers.

Why?

And this: SFB First Nutcracker And my personal favorite (she was one of my teachers): First Snow Queen

Thanks for the info everyone. I certainly assumed as much.

I hope Tiler Peck got paid well to make that very brief "appearance." Interesting to me that a former friend of mine used to shove the DC Kirov Academy down everyone's throats (her daughter never dance professionally in the end), and while I certainly am not familiar with everyone who has attended that school, the high profile former student's certainly have made interesting career choices.

The same could be said for both reviews. :blush:

Neumeier is still conducting these matinées!

All one has to do is research the origins of the story by H.C. Andersen to understand that Disney (who most assume invented the story) didn't tell his story. And I quote:

I've witnessed a small company in my neck of the woods flail with 8-10 dancers. No strong choreographic voice any longer and "founder's syndrome" inhibiting its development in a big way. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. As memory serves Ms. Lopez has always been in "top form" when making comments to the press.

I often wonder if choreographers go the "no story" route so that we can invent our own? Balanchine said it, when you have two people on stage (a man and a woman I believe) you already have a story.