Brioche

Three months ago, Eddie Stegge of the Diablo Ballet lay unconscious and near death on a Concord street after a savage beating.

Diablo Ballet Eddie Stegge

Great seating/standing advice PeggyR.

For almost my 35+ years of attending the ballet at the SF Opera house I have stood. You can't beat the price. I was crushed when the Dress Circle standing room was elminated in the renovation.

I'm not a fan of Dress Circle. That slant upwards bugs me. So occassionally I sit in Balcony Circle, towards the front if I can. Yes, it's high, but I like it due to no over hang and with opera glasses to enhance the experience.

Thanks PeggyR!

I have longed to see again (for years) OPUS 19/THE DREAMER.

Back in the day Joanna Berman was extraordinary as the principal woman.

All this raving about Agrippina Vaganova and her method, and not a word mentioned about her teacher, Olga Preobrajenska. I consider it my greatest fortune to have studied with her in Paris where I received a wealth of knowledge. Preobrajenska merits the credit—and not Vaganova, who was only lucky to study with Preobrajenska and receive the finer points and details."

George Zuritch

Amen, amen, amen!

Thank you for your short memoir. Don Eryck was my teacher and more importantly my mentor until his death in 1990. Like so many he died too young.

I was lucky enough to meet Gene once when I traveled with Don to LA one Christmas.

Happy New Year.

D

Richka-

I sent emails to a number of company's that have staged this ballet asking who staged it for them, as a friend of mine would like to acquire it for his company. I received nothing back, nothing!

Alexandra, was that William Sessions? His daughter was in San Franciso Ballet.

Thank you Paul. I waited in line for 7 hours here in San Francisco all those many years ago. As we can all see it was clearly worth the wait AND she danced that night with Mischa!

A sad day indeed. Bruce Bain was iconic in the San Francisco/Bay Area.

RIP.

Thanks for posting this Gina.

I have put it on my Facebook page too.

xo

D

I saw her dance the Shades act from Bayadere in San Francisco, very late 70's with Bujones. Really fabulous!

I never tire of watching "I am a Dancer." I love the class and rehearsal footage especially.

I hope somebody tells him that fine sets and bunch of "contemporary dances" wouldn't make good ballets. The right selection and correct intrepretation of music does.

After 36 years as the Artistic Director at Hamburg Ballet, I can't imagine there is a whole lot any of us good "tell" Mr. Neumeier. The man has a huge repertoire of choreography and a devoted following in Hamburg.

I hope this is the right place for this question.

Looking at a youtube video of Alina Cojocaru makes me wonder who was the first woman to use the fan during the fouettes in the coda. Lorena Feijoo at SF Ballet does it too as well as Diana Vishneva.

Does anyone know with whom this originated?

Thanks!

And then there’s Jennifer Stahl. Last Saturday, when Rubies was substituted for Russian Seasons in Program 8, Stahl made her Tall Girl debut.

Well, I don’t know what happened since last Saturday, but this Saturday she was sensational.

It ain't rocket science really. Generally the first time out you just want to get through it alive. And with the last minute substitution of Rubies for the Ratmanksy, the pressure may have even been greater.

We all know that given time and experience a dancers performance can get better.

Does anyone know the best way (email?) to contact Patrice Bart?

Conviction? Perhaps.

Unless the video and music are misaligned due to the upload to youtube the musicality is fairly messy in most of this performance.

The battu in the third movement is not the Bolshoi's strongest moment on film either.

But it is great to see all of this footage.

I've just read this biography and liked it very much. I was wondering whether any of those who had disliked it at first, put off by the reviews, had changed their minds.

...

Have people changed their minds?

Nope

Me either.

I agree with Paul on all counts.

Also the company looked quite cramped on the Zellerbach stage. Too bad, it really hampered them.

I felt Makarova told the story badly.

I don't care for "choreographers" who drag out the Princess' of Brides waltz. The knights who escorted them were a bit odd as well. Rothbart wears his wings to the Ball in Act 3. Very odd.

The Benno was wonderful as were the dancers he partnered in the first act pas de trois.

Run, don't walk to view and/or purchase this documentary - FELIA DOUBROVSKA REMEMBERED - an absolute delight in many, many ways.

I loved playing Dross. I liked portraying him as the facilitator for the magic/dream/fantasy with a bit of humor, ala Rob Besserer in Hard Nut thrown in.

yes to the volokova query - see (somwhere on BT) alexandra's alert to this book's recent publication.

Thank you.

Amazon UK has it as well.

Mme. Alonso needs one:

Loved by millions in Cuba and abroad, and equally hated for her communist political afiliation. One of the few living Prima Ballerina Assolutas on earth, Balanchine's muse and Fidel Castro's close friend. Praised, venerated and equally bitterly criticized by the same dancers at the same time for her tiranic ballet managment. Responsible for elevating careers to the point of having cuban principals in all major world ballet companies, and accountable also for stoppping others from the rise. Internal scandals, major triumphs, and all this while being legally blind since her early twenties...Well, i think there is some material to work with right there...

Wow Cristian, sounds like a project you should undertake!

Has the Volkova biography been printed in English yet? If not, will it be?

It's another girl!!!!

Allegra Grace Jung arrived at 3:05 AM on July 14th.

Mother Elizabeth (Loscavio), father Carsten and sister Angelina are all doing very well.

Congratulations to the Jung family!

All too recognizable, once she had taken up what seemed to be permanent residence in Wobble City.

At this very sad time do we really need to go down this road?

And is the wonderful S-shape of swans in Act IV still there as well?

I haven't watched Act IV yet, but there is a beautiful overhead shot of an S-shape in Act II.