kbarber

Yes, Cineplex told me that it would be Esmeralda rebroadcast in all their cinemas in Canada.

BalletMet's press release BalletMet Columbus is delighted to announce that renowned choreographer Edwaard Liang will become its new Artistic Director effective July 2013. Edwaard Liang A former dancer with New York City Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater, Liang has built an international reputation as a choreographer. Over the last decade, he has created work for the Bolshoi Ballet, Houston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Kirov Ballet, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Shanghai Ballet, Singapore Dance Theatre and Washington Ballet. Born in Taipei, Taiwan and raised in Marin County, California, Edwaard Liang began his early dance training at age 5 at Marin Ballet. After studying at the School of American Ballet he joined New York City Ballet in 1993, the same year he was a medal winner at the Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition and won the Mae L. Wien Award. By 1998, he was promoted to Soloist. In 2001, Edwaard joined the Tony Award® winning Broadway cast of Fosse. His performance in Fosse was later televised nationally on PBS’ Great Performances series – “Dance in America: From Broadway: Fosse,” and subsequently released on DVD. By 2002, Liang was invited by Jiri Kylian to become a member of the acclaimed Nederlands Dans Theater 1. While dancing with NDT 1 Mr. Liang discovered his passion and love for choreography. Since establishing himself as a choreographer, his works have been performed by dance companies around the world and he has won numerous awards for his choreography including the 2006 National Choreographic Competition. BalletMet Columbus started its search for a new artistic director last spring after former Artistic Director Gerard Charles announced he would leave to become the Ballet Master at Chicago’s famed Joffrey Ballet. “Throughout our search process, we have been aware that his position was not only important to BalletMet, but to Central Ohio. Our search committee of board members, dancers, staff and community members worked tirelessly for nearly a year to evaluate more than 80 applicants from around the world,” said BalletMet Columbus board chair, Mary Duffey. “Edwaard has committed to move to Columbus, and to our mission of engaging the community through quality performances, instruction, and education programs and creation of new work.” BalletMet board member and search committee co-chair, Sue Porter added, “Edwaard has already had an extraordinary career as a dancer and choreographer and now is excited to take the next step as an artistic director. We feel very proud that he has decided that BalletMet is where he wants to take that next step.” Mr. Liang becomes BalletMet Columbus’ fifth artistic director, following a strong roster of past leadership that began in 1978 with Wayne Soulant and continued with John McFall (1986 – 1993), David Nixon (1994 – 2001) and Gerard Charles (2001 – 2012). View Edwaard's website

The Royal Ballet | Nadia Nerina retrospective exhibition Acclaimed ballerina and pioneer of ballet on television celebrated in a retrospective exhibition: Nadia Nerina, Principal Ballet dancer with The Royal Ballet from 1947-1966 Royal Opera House, 22 March – 17 August 2013 Generously supported by the Philip Loubser Foundation Royal Ballet Artist Anna Rose O’Sullivan models acclaimed ballerina Nadia Nerina’s Fireworks costume. This costume from an unknown Kenneth MacMillan work (designed by Nicholas Georgiadis) will be displayed for the first time in a new retrospective exhibition at the Royal Opera House. Photo credit: Elliott Franks / Courtesy of the Royal Opera House Nadia Nerina was a pioneer in the world of ballet bringing the art form to the television in its early days. She was also the first ballerina in The Royal Ballet after Margot Fonteyn to dance the complete range of the company’s ballerina roles in the full length ballets including Cinderella, Coppélia, Giselle, Le Lac des cynges, Ondine, The Sleeping Beauty and Sylvia and one of the first dancers to tour away from the Company, bringing ballet to the masses. Royal Ballet Artist Anna Rose O’Sullivan models acclaimed ballerina Nadia Nerina’s Fireworks costume. This costume from an unknown Kenneth MacMillan work (designed by Nicholas Georgiadis) will be displayed for the first time in a new retrospective exhibition at the Royal Opera House. Photo credit: Elliott Franks / Courtesy of the Royal Opera House Now sixty years since Nerina was made a Principal of Sadler’s Wells Ballet, later The Royal Ballet, the South African born dancer’s illustrious career and her unique contribution to the history of The Royal Ballet is celebrated in a retrospective exhibition at the Royal Opera House. The majority of the material on display is drawn from the Nadia Nerina Collection with a few additional items from Royal Opera House Collections to reflect her career with The Royal Ballet. Born Nadine Judd on 21 October 1927 in Cape Town, South Africa, Nerina had her first dancing classes at the age of nine. She wrote fan letters to Beryl Grey of Sadler’s Wells Ballet. She treasured a reply from Grey in her scrapbook which can be seen on display in the exhibition. Nerina’s dancing and acting abilities continued to impress and eventually she decided she wanted to pursue a career in ballet. She came to London and took classes with Marie Rambert before joining Sadler’s Wells Ballet School in February 1946. In the April she was invited to join Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet, the new company of young dancers and choreographers being established by Ninette de Valois at Sadler’s Wells Theatre. Nerina’s contemporaries at Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet included Anne Heaton, Sheilah O’Reilly, Donald Britton, Leo Kersley, Kenneth MacMillan, Peter Darrell, Michael Boulton and John Cranko. Royal Ballet Artist Anna Rose O’Sullivan models acclaimed ballerina Nadia Nerina’s Fireworks costume. This costume from an unknown Kenneth MacMillan work (designed by Nicholas Georgiadis) will be displayed for the first time in a new retrospective exhibition at the Royal Opera House. Photo credit: Elliott Franks / Courtesy of the Royal Opera House Ninette de Valois commented on Nerina’s lovely, natural flow of movement and in later years said that Nerina was the dancer who most reminded her of herself. When Frederick Ashton created a new version of La Fille mal gardée in 1960 with what he called his “dream cast”, he cast Nerina as Lise and David Blair as Colas. The technical accomplishments of Nerina and Blair meant Ashton was free to create some of his most demanding pas de deux and variations. Nerina became the first Royal Ballet ballet dancer to attempt the one-handed Bolshoi lift where the ballerina sits high above her partner’s head sitting on the palm of his hand, a feat which drew gasps of amazement from the audience. Nerina was a pioneer of ballet on television agreeing to collaborate with Margaret Dale, a former dancer with Sadler’s Wells Ballet who was working as a BBC producer in the 1950s. Between 1957 and 1965, Nerina starred in Dale’s studio productions of Coppélia, Les Sylphides, Giselle, Petrushka, La Fille mal gardée and The Firebird. These were ground-breaking productions filmed especially for television viewers winning a whole new audience for ballet. Casts included her Sadler’s Wells Ballet/Royal Ballet colleagues Robert Helpmann, Donald Britton, Julia Farron, Alfred Rodrigues and Peter Wright, and Njels Bjorn Larsen from the Royal Danish Ballet and Lydia Sokolova, the British dancer who had danced with Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Dale also managed to secure the Bolshoi Principal Nicolai Fadeyechev to appear as Albrecht with Nerina in the title role in Giselle. From her BBC TV appearances, Nerina kept her costume as Swanilda in Coppélia which is also on display in the exhibition. Royal Ballet Artist Anna Rose O’Sullivan models acclaimed ballerina Nadia Nerina’s Fireworks costume. This costume from an unknown Kenneth MacMillan work (designed by Nicholas Georgiadis) will be displayed for the first time in a new retrospective exhibition at the Royal Opera House.Photo credit: Elliott Franks / Courtesy of the Royal Opera House Nerina was one of the first Royal Ballet ballerinas to organise their own tours away from the Company. In 1952, she returned to her native South Africa with her regular partner Alexis Rassine for a concert tour. In 1955 she and Rassine covered some 35,000 miles in a concert tour they called Ballet Highlights visiting South Africa, Rhodesia, East and West Africa. In 1956/57 they toured a Ballet Highlights concert tour around the UK with concert pianists Colin Preedy and Colin Kingsley. The two hour programme consisted of five pas de deux interspersed with musical interludes. The tours began in Oxford and included Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. Kenneth MacMillan created a pas de deuxentitled Fireworks for Nerina and Rassine which was performed for the first time in Oxford. The work has not been seen since but Nerina kept her costume designed by Nicholas Georgiadis who collaborated with MacMillan on many of his ballets. This costume was discovered buried in a box thought to contain Nerina’s head dresses and will be displayed for the first time in this exhibition. Other costumes from her tours include the tutu for Boleras de la Cachucha, a pas de deux choreographed for her and Alexis Rassine by Nerina’s former teacher Elsa Brunelleschi, and the costumes for the two Anna Pavlova solos The Dying Swan, choreographed by Mikhail Fokine for Pavlova, and The Dragonfly, choreographed by Pavlova herself. Nerina collected material associated with her career including costumes, press cuttings, photographs, posters as well as the cans of film of the BBC broadcasts. Thanks to the generosity of the Philip Loubser Foundation, Nerina’s Collection has been donated to Royal Opera House Collections. In addition, their generosity has allowed the costumes and accessories to be cleaned and conserved, the films transferred to appropriate film and the press cutting books and other material re-housed in acid free boxes. Costumes on display include a Moth which is thought to date from her performances in the early 1940s as a young dancer in Durban, South Africa. Some early press cuttings and programmes can also be seen. From her Sadler’s Wells Ballet/The Royal Ballet days there are costumes and head dresses for Odile in Le Lac des cygnes, designed by Leslie Hurry, the British surrealist artist, and the tutu for the Don Quixote pas de deux, which she danced with the great Danish dancer Erik Bruhn in 1962. Nerina danced many Frederick Ashton roles and her costumes for Ondine, designed by Lila de Nobili, and for the Debutante in Façade, designed by John Armstrong, as well as a large photograph of herself with Alexis Rassine as the Dago can also be seen. In 1963, Nerina created the role of Elektra in the Robert Helpmann ballet Elektra and her costume, designed by the Australian artist Arthur Boyd, is displayed alongside a pair of signed pink ballet slippers she wore for her last performance as Guest Artist with The Royal Ballet in Ashton’s Sylvia (One Act) at the Royal Opera House on 20 January 1968. This material is complemented by three costumes and photographs from Royal Opera House Collections conveying the full range of her work. Nerina’s costumes as The Faded Beauty, the role created for her by Kenneth MacMillan’s Noctambules in 1956, as Lise, the role Ashton created for her in La Fille mal gardée in 1960 and the role for which perhaps she is best remembered, as Ashton’s Sylvia, the last role she danced at the Royal Opera House, are also on display. Royal Opera House Collections have commissioned independent filmmaker Lynne Wake to create a short film to convey some of the qualities of Nadia Nerina as a dancer. This includes extracts from her two favourite roles – Lise in LaFille mal gardée and the title role in Giselle. The film can be viewed in the Amphitheatre Gallery during daytime opening of the exhibition. The exhibition runs until Saturday 17 August 2013 and can be viewed free by daytime visitors. The Royal Opera House is a working theatre so please ring the Box Office on +44 (0)20 7304 4000 to check the exhibition areas are open. A free exhibition leaflet is available to guide visitors around the exhibition spaces and can be downloaded from the Royal Collections website.

I am rather surprised to see Agnes de Mille's Fall River Legend revived. I saw this ballet about LIzzie Borden quite a bit when performed by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in the 70s (I was only 10!). Has anyone else performed it recently?

http://www.nytimes.c...wanted=all&_r=0 Q. What did you learn from people you worked for? A. It’s important to make people feel that they matter, whether you are in the corps de ballet or the top principal. Peter Wright was my director and was really somebody I admire. You could be there in a studio, tired, trying to get the will together, and he was somebody who would walk into the room and not scare you but actually get you enthused about what you’re doing. He would say to all the girls, “Each one of you, you’re all ballerinas, you’re all going to sparkle,” and you could see them physically grow.

Actually to clarify, if you go Friday night, Sat aft, Sat night, there are in fact no repeats.

For those wondering how to get to Saratoga Springs: Saratoga Springs is on the Amtrak train line between New York and Montreal. Nearest airport is Albany, 30 minutes drive from Saratoga, with regular scheduled direct service from the following cities: Orlando, Philadelphia, Washington Dulles, Washington National, Charlotte, Cleveland, Boston, Baltimore, Newark, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago Midway, Tampa, Ft Lauderdale, Atlanta

I have also blogged about the unique Saratoga experience here: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2011/07/ballet-binge-in-saratoga-springs.html and here: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2010/07/electrifying-experience-at-ballet.html. and I too think it would be a great great loss if NYCB stopped coming. I am organizing a group package this summer, more info here: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2013/02/see-nycb-in-saratoga-springs-trip-now.html You can just meet us in Saratoga, or if you need help with transport I am organizing a coach from Toronto via Buffalo, but we could possibly pick up passengers between Toronto and Saratoga.

I have posted March Toronto casting to my website. Nijinsky: http://toursenlair.b...-ballet-of.html Romeo and Juliet: http://toursenlair.b...meo-juliet.html NBOC is offering a 4-for-2 deal on orchestra seats for R&J Tuesday to Thursday.

Last time I was in Saratoga, they used local ballet school students for Circus Polka, they didn't bring them from NY. I suspect they will do the same for Garland Dance. Why would transporting the Valentino costumes cost any more than any other ballet's, especially when you've got a truck loaded up anyway with other rep? My understanding of NYCB's practices at SPAC with students is that they do audition and select local students to perform, but SAB students almost always perform there. As for bringing the sets and costumes up there, NYCB performs all (or almost all) of its ballets at SPAC. Last year, a local newspaper article mentioned, when NYCB arrived in town, the number of trailers containing sets and costumes! Can't remember exactly, but it was something like, I don't know, 20..... Hi AlbanyGirl, I'm organizing a group trip to Saratoga for the NYCB weekend, so hopefully you and I might get a chance to meet!

Last time I was in Saratoga, they used local ballet school students for Circus Polka, they didn't bring them from NY. I suspect they will do the same for Garland Dance. Why would transporting the Valentino costumes cost any more than any other ballet's, especially when you've got a truck loaded up anyway with other rep?

The Royal Opera House owns the Opus Arte DVD label.

And for more of that, see this:

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, March 2012, it says, in teeny tiny type.

An interview published yesterday with Lunkina: http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/02/08/star-in-the-wings/

I have posted the casting here. National Ballet of Canada's Guillaume Cote and Heather Ogden are guesting with Hamburg, and in return Hamburg's Alexandre Riabko will be guesting with NBOC for its Nijinsky run in March.

Yes, it is official, he is taking over from Malakhov as AD of Berlin Ballet in 2014... while still being resident choreographer at the Mikhailovsky. Can't wait to see how that works. His reception from the Berlin press was not shall we say rapturous. One article called him yesterday's man.

a short reprieve for Ballet Kelowna: The Show Must Go On! Local Heroes ensure Ballet Kelowna will complete its 10th Anniversary Season! After disclosing its intention to suspend operations effective March 16th, Ballet Kelowna is thrilled to announce that the ‘little ballet company that could’ will take the stage in communities across BC in the company’s 10th Anniversary Tour as planned this spring. Previously suspended tour dates in Mission and Coquitlam have been re-instated as well as outreach performances in several Kelowna schools. In a joint message, Ballet Kelowna President Jamie Maw and Artistic Director David LaHay said, “This temporary financial reprieve allows us to finish our season at the end of April as originally planned. And importantly, it protects our out-of-town presenters while allowing our dancers to take their message across the province.” The company has experienced an outpouring of community support from individuals and businesses including The Canadian School of Ballet, Chris and Michelle Sorensen and the Thomas Alan Budd Foundation – each of whom has stepped forward to help Ballet Kelowna complete their season. “Staff will donate time, and board members, sponsors and donors have dug even more deeply,” Maw said. “We would like to thank everyone involved in ensuring this six-week extension.” Artistic Director LaHay added, “I’m very proud of the entire Ballet Kelowna family and our successful efforts to complete our season as planned. I now ask all of you, our partners in the dance, to help us ensure the legacy continues. Please attend a performance, make a donation or become a member of the Kelowna Ballet Society.” Davin Luce, who has danced with Ballet Kelowna for four years says, “This company gives Canadian dancers a one-in-a-million opportunity at a career. The loss of Ballet Kelowna would be tragic, not only for the dance community, but also for Kelowna and all the small communities we serve on tour.” According to Maw, the company is now scheduled to suspend operations at the end of April. “We will be convening a Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, February 13th at the Kelowna Art Gallery at 1315 Water Street so that members, dancers, staff, the City, and patrons, donors and the public can objectively express their thoughts about the future of dance in the Okanagan.” Ballet Kelowna will be celebrating with a free public performance at Orchard Park Shopping Centre on February 23rd. The company’s spring tour includes a performance on March 15th at the Kelowna Community Theatre. Flower Power, Ballet Kelowna’s annual garden tour, will be held June 15th with Chris Sorensen of National Bank Financial as title sponsor. Tickets and more information are available at BalletKelowna.ca

For more information: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2013/02/guillaume-cote-and-heather-ogden-guest.html

A very funny blog post from San Francisco Ballet with pictures comparing the San Francisco 49ers and ballet dancers from SFB: http://www.sfballetblog.org/2013/02/footballet/

Ballet Kelowna, a small company in central British Columbia, is closing. Here is their press release: The Final Curtain Call After ten illustrious years of inspired dance, and the imminent retirement of Artistic Director David LaHay, Ballet Kelowna will take its final curtain call on March16th. Over the past decade, and in addition to performing frequently at the Kelowna Community Theatre, Ballet Kelowna has taken LaHay’s inspired blend of classical and contemporary dance to more than 30 smaller communities throughout British Columbia and Alberta. Its starring role in The Nutcracker in Kelowna has long been a family favourite during the holiday season. Throughout that time the company has managed to maintain balanced budgets with the assistance of grants, three major fundraising events and government and donor support. But across the board, non-profits, and especially arts organizations, have been experiencing dwindling audiences, sponsorship and fundraising event attendance. "Ten years celebrates a significant achievement," says Ballet Kelowna Board President Jamie Maw. "Sustaining a ballet company in a smaller market is an ongoing struggle, one we've willingly embraced knowing how fortunate we are to bring David's extraordinarily high standard of dance to our community, and to many others.” “No matter how much we fine tune our projections,” Maw said, “and despite one of the hardest working Boards in show business, the continuing downward economic trends are more than we can adjust for. We currently find ourselves at an opportune juncture to celebrate those ten years, concurrent with the ability to retire our financial obligations responsibly. Our financial forecasting tells us—six months from now—that will no longer be the case. As much as we would love to continue supporting dance in Kelowna, we owe it to the City and to our funders to act with fiduciary responsibility." Ballet Kelowna, with the financial assistance of the Thomas Alan Budd Foundation and a group of community business people, will continue its tour performances in March, culminating in ‘Grand Finales’ in Kelowna and Summerland on March 15th and 16th. The City of Kelowna has been a major funder of Ballet Kelowna since 2003. Sandra Kochan, Cultural Services Manager for the City, commented, “Over the last ten years, our community has been privileged to be the home base for this dynamic, innovative touring company which has touched the lives of so many audiences here at home and throughout Western Canada. Ballet Kelowna has also fulfilled an important role in the career development of its professional dancers, and the artistic legacy of David LaHay’s mentorship will continue as these talented young dancers move on to other stages. The departure of this organization from the community’s cultural family is a real loss; on behalf of the City I extend sincere thanks to the dancers, staff, Directors and volunteers who have worked so hard over the last decade to share the beauty and athleticism of ballet with us.” The Kelowna Ballet Society will continue to exist in shell form, in hopes that a new group of dance enthusiasts, with renewed energy and vision, will bring their own brand of dance to Kelowna, and build upon the creative legacy of David LaHay. In Kelowna since 2002, David LaHay brought with him a distinguished career as Principal Dancer of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and Ballet Master at Les Grands, The Ottawa Ballet, and Alberta Ballet. Touring his eight young dancers all over BC and Alberta, David brought world-caliber dance to children and communities that would often otherwise never have had this exposure. LaHay said, “I am very proud of the precious gift I and my devoted, talented dancers have given to the City of Kelowna and the province of British Columbia this past decade - a ballet company that earned the respect and admiration of audiences and presenters everywhere with exciting programming that truly “Moved” everyone. I am most grateful for all the support we have received from so many people, corporations and funding agencies who have truly our partners in the dance.” Ballet Kelowna invites the entire community to come out and support its ‘Grand Finale’ performances. Program and ticket information can be found at www.balletkelowna.ca

I have left a message with Cineplex to let me know what their plans are for Canada.

It's not the film that has been cancelled, it's the actual production, which was supposed to premiere in March.

balletincinema.com just posted this to their facebook page: ANNOUNCEMENT: BOLSHOI BALLET CANCELS “RITE OF SPRING” IN WAKE OF ATTACK ON SERGEI FILIN EMERGING PICTURES, EXCLUSIVE U.S. DISTRIBUTOR FOR BOLSHOI BALLET, WILL REVAMP “BALLET IN CINEMA” SPRING SCHEDULE New York – January 31, 2013 --- Emerging Pictures, the largest all-digital specialty film and alternative content network of theatres in the U.S., today announced that its scheduled presentation of the Bolshoi Ballet’s new production of “The Rite of Spring” has been cancelled as the result of the attack on Bolshoi artistic director Sergei Filin. Earlier this month, Filin was savagely assaulted near his Moscow home by a masked attacker who threw acid in his face. He suffered third-degree burns and will very likely lose sight in one eye; his recovery will take at least six months. A new production with commissioned choreography by Wayne McGregor was planned to celebrate the 100th anniversary of “The Rite of Spring.” The performance was to have been screened as part of Emerging Pictures’s Ballet in Cinema series in approximately 300 U.S. theatres beginning April 21. Barry Rebo, managing partner at Emerging Pictures, said, “We very much regret this unavoidable cancellation. Our thoughts are with Mr. Filin and all his colleagues at the Boshoi, and hope for his fullest possible and speedy recovery. A suitable performance will be substituted for ‘The Rite of Spring’ in Emerging network theatres.” The official release from the Bolshoi read, in part: “The Directorship of the Bolshoi theatre of Russia, with the production crew headed by the choreographer Wayne McGregor, has come to a joint decision to postpone the production of ‘The Rite of Spring’ due to the fact that the artistic director of the ballet company of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, Mr. Sergei Filin, is hospitalized. The date of the production will be determined after the artistic director of the ballet returns back to the theatre.” The live broadcast, which we would have seen in Canada, was scheduled for March 31.

"- I really wanted to come back and still want to, but I recently learned that my artistic director does not want it. Sergei Filin told the troupe, "Lunkina will not return here again." and yet according to the artsdesk's report of the upcoming Bolshoi tour to London: "The principal artists listed for London are (female) Maria Alexandrova, Maria Allash, Nina Kaptsova, Svetlana Lunkina,..."