kbarber

34 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Thanks for the answer, kbarber.  The 2005 festival was fantastic, creating memories to last a lifetime. Are Bournonville Lovers a dying breed? RDB seems to think so. It would be bad if the Mariinsky thought the same way about Petipa.

 

 

I don't think Bournonville lovers are a dying breed, as witness how enthusiastically Ulrik Birkkjaer's small group was welcomed in NY and London a couple of years ago. I am organizing a group trip to Copenhagen for this festival and I had over 70 people who had expressed an interest when we thought it was a Bournonville festival. Only 12 have signed up for the less-Bournonville version. This just reflects Hubbe's vision, I think.

3 hours ago, Canadian said:

 

Um... The New York Times literally could not say enough nice things about it? http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/28/arts/dance/28tobi.html

(It was also lauded by the national post, globe and mail and the toronto star).

 

Could you be thinking of a Binet turkey?

No I was not thinking of a "Binet turkey".

The link you gave was not a review but a preview, quoting Kevin McKenzie and ... James Kudelka on the merits of the production.

I was thinking of Alastair Macaulay:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/arts/dance/04cind.html?8dpc

" James Kudelka’s “Cinderella,” on show this week at the Metropolitan Opera House with American Ballet Theater, would be a good idea for a ballet — if only Mr. Kudelka’s idea were about ballet and if only he had the choreographic stagecraft to make good on it. "

and Clive Barnes:

" But however good the dancing - and however entrancing Prokofiev's score - we're left with the plebian and taste-challenged vulgarity of Kudelka's staging and the sheer banality of his choreography. "

19 hours ago, CharlieH said:

It appears that the "Somewhat Bournonville Non-festival" in early June 2018 will consist of one Napoli on June 1 and one Bournonvilleana program of excerpts on June 2. Did I miss something?  There's a Gala one week later (June 9) but there's no guarantee that Bournonville will be in the program.

That's about the size of it. Apparently Hubbe wants to show the world that the RDB is not just about Bournonville. The 10 days also include

Swan Lake (staged by Silja Schandorff and Nikolaj Hübbe)
Young Choreographers evening
"An evening of modern dance" details TBA

and an evening called "Hubberiet" which is like a talk show (in Danish) hosted by Hubbe and featuring guests from other artistic and non-artistic fields.

There are supposed to be ballet-related events going on throughout the city, but no info about them till January.

16 hours ago, Canadian said:

Indeed, you have never heard Kudelka was the golden age in the history of the national ballet because I did not say that. However, it is impossible to ignore his success and the fact that he is now sought after around the world after such works as "Four Seasons" "Cinderella" and "The Man in Black".

I don't think any other company in the world is asking for Kudelka's Cinderella, are they? It was absolutely trashed by the critics in New York.

I loved Chroma... and then every McGregor piece I've seen since then just looks like more of the same. (with ever more impenetrable and pretentious program notes)

I would have loved to see Dronina as Odette. I don't care how tall or short she is. And now she has gone to ENB, with only rare appearances in Toronto. Could there possibly be a connection with her not being cast in Swan Lake, she asks rhetorically.

On 10/21/2017 at 5:09 PM, Darry said:

I saw Swan Lake in June with Hannah Fischer.  While I'm sure she has great potential, if given the choice I would have liked to have seen a performance with principal dancers in the lead roles.  Also, it wasn't clear to me why all of the lead roles were cast with second soloists.  Perhaps if the casting was set before ticket purchase.....it would have seemed more fair.

 

Since then I have been trying to strategize on what nights to pick tickets for the 2017-2018 Season to increase my odds of having principal dancers cast in lead roles.  At the cost of sounding whiny - it dampens my enthusiasm to attend.  

 

 

You may as well wait till casting is announced, even though this is usually only two or three weeks before opening, because at that point there are still usually lots of good tickets available.

Saturday, November 4, 2017; 4:00 PM
Fort Wayne Ballet Studios (300 E. Main Street Fort Wayne, IN 46802)
To purchase tickets click HERE

Sunday, November 5, 2017; 1:00 PM
Hudson Library and Historical Society (96 Library Street, Hudson, Ohio 44236)
*David Hallberg in conversation with Pam Young, Executive Director, DanceCleveland. Books available for sale by The Learned Owl. Click HERE to RSVP

Wednesday, November 8, 2017; 7:00 PM
Little City Books @ Mile Square Theater (1400 Clinton Street. Hoboken, NJ 07030)
*In conversation with Misty Copeland, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. To purchase tickets click HERE

Thursday, November 9, 2017; 7:00 PM
92nd Street Y (1395 Lexington Avenue, Warburg Lounge, New York, NY)
*In conversation with Derek Blasberg, editor and New York Times bestselling author. To purchase tickets click HERE

Thursday, November 30, 2017; 7:30 PM
Princeton University
*A Conversation with David Hallberg. Sponsored by Princeton Tonight and Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students

Also, I have five copies of his book to give away. Click here for more details:

http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2017/10/win-copy-of-ballet-star-david-hallbergs.html

This is in the early stages:

10 hours ago, pherank said:

 

When I asked what the Russian for “speed bump” is, I was told it’s lezhashchii politseiskii, which means “lying-down policeman.”

Just to point out, the British English word for a speed bump is a "sleeping policeman", which I really doubt they loan-translate from Russian, so this tidbit doesn't reveal anything unique about Russia.

On 9/24/2017 at 8:10 AM, silvermash said:

 

It was fine but not memorable... I believe it was far from "American" standards... it lacks crisp and fun... I think Rubies is the most diffcult part to capture for POB dancers. Only Jérémie Belingard from the past years could make something of it from what I have seen

I was quite impressed by it and could understand the buzz about this dancer, especially considering he was a fairly last-miinute replacement for Matthias Heymann.

On 4/1/2017 at 1:34 AM, sandik said:

Since I haven't seen the Ratmansky version for the Canadians, I'm hoping that is what we'll see here.

Greta Hodgkinson and Aleksandar Antonijevic from the National Ballet of Canada have been in Moscow for the last couple of weeks teaching the Bolshoi the Ratmansky R&J, so I am sure that is the version that will be broadcast. Not that I would pay to go and see it, mind.

What do y'all think about this teaser video for Swan Lake? For me, it's a bit odd. Kinda makes you think it's a ballet about... tiaras (if it's a ballet at all... there's no dancing going on, just the tiaras).

Robert Tewsley joined as a principal from the Royal Ballet in 2002.

3 hours ago, Golden Idol said:

REQUEST FOR TRAVEL ADVICE: As a non-driving New Yorker, I'm wondering about travel to Sarasota from the Tampa airport. It seems that one has to take a taxi to the Greyhound Station, then a one-and-a-half-hour bus ride to downtown Sarasota. Is anyone familiar with Sarasota able to make recommendations? Many thanks in advance. 

I have some travel tips for ballet lovers going to Sarasota here: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2014/05/travel-tips-for-ballet-lovers-sarasota.html

3 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

Yes, the 2017-18 season announcement states explicitly (in Russian) that it is the "transfer of Alexei Ratmansky's production at the National Ballet of Canada (Toronto, 2011)" and includes a couple of quotes from reviews in Canadian papers.

 

p. 19

http://www.bolshoi.ru/upload/medialibrary/101/10149b16ff60c2403a87f9acf04bd93c.pdf

 

Canadian critics and Alastair Macaulay reviewed it positively, but British critics gave it the thumbs down when the ballet was performed in London. Toronto audiences are similarly divided. I know people who like it, but also others who swear they will never go see it again.

I am one of the latter! I gave it many chances, but found I disliked it more each time I saw it.

more info and screening dates here:

http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2017/08/ballet-film-polina-opens-in-usa-august.html

Author event in New York:

Date and Time

Location

Participants have been announced for the

Canada All-Star Ballet Gala on Oct 28th at Sony Centre, Toronto:

Timofej Andrijashenko, Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Italy

Emma Hawes, National Ballet of Canada 

Isaac Hernández, English National Ballet, London, UK

Marlon Dino, Dortmund Ballet, Germany (formerly Bavarian State Ballet)

Jurgita Dronina, English National Ballet, London, UK & National Ballet of Canada

Christopher Gerty, National Ballet of Canada 

Maria Kochetkova, San Francisco Ballet & American Ballet Theatre, USA

Lucia Lacarra, Dortmund Ballet, Germany

(formerly Bavarian State Ballet)

Carlo Di Lanno, San Francisco Ballet, USA

Anastasia Lukina, Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, Russia

Svetlana Lunkina, National Ballet of Canada

Evan Mackie, National Ballet of Canada

Nicoletta Manni, Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Italy

Hugo Marchand, Paris Opera Ballet, France

Ludmila Pagliero, Paris Opera Ballet, France

Piotr Stanczyk, National Ballet of Canada

Dmitry Vyskubenko, Bavarian Opera Ballet, Munich, Germany

44 minutes ago, KarenAG said:

 

 I know Hannah is from Australia

Hannah is from New Zealand.

not a joke name.

Remembering Tap Dancing William “Bill” Orlowski

By Marissa Trarback

William Orlowski (1988) / Photo by David Cooper

William “Bill” Orlowski, one of the greatest Canadian tap dancers and choreographers, died October 22, 2016.

Born in Brampton, ON, Orlowski began tap dancing at a young age. It was dance films of Fred Astaire that first inspired him to dance, according to the Arts Alive website. He trained at the Marise White School of Dance in Port Credit and with Gladys Forrester before moving to Toronto to work in television and in professional musical theatre, as well as to perform in various community theatre productions.

In 1977, Orlowski opened Hoofer’s Club in Toronto, the first dance school in Canada to focus solely on the art of tapping. He co-founded the National Tap Dance Company with Steve Dymond and remained involved as artistic director and choreographer for thirty years, creating over forty works including The Tin Soldier, Oliver Button is a Sissy, Hound of the Baskervilles and Brandenburg Concerto #3. As a choreographer, Orlowski challenged the parameters of tap dancing by refusing to allow vaudeville conventions to define the art form. Instead, he communicated plot through rhythm and movement, encouraging narration and storytelling.

Orlowski continued to explore opportunities in film, choreographing for such films as Stepping Out (1991) with Liza Minnelli. In 1990, he started his own company, the William Orlowski Tap Dance Projects, through which he choreographed more works for the concert stage, including the Shaw Festival’s 2001 production of the Noël Coward musical Shadow Play.

The Arts Alive website also notes that his sense of civic responsibility often accompanied his artistic talent. His work with Smile Company, a theatre group that performs for people in hospitals and nursing homes, exemplifies that.

After his diagnosis with dystonia – a neurological movement disorder closely related to Parkinson’s – Orlowski continued dancing, performing as recently as October 2, 2016, in Well Seasoned Production’s Curtains Up on 50+. He performed, as his friend and colleague Anne Wootten recalls, “as always, with style, grace and humour.”

1 minute ago, pherank said:

The idea to use children is an interesting one since that reduces the cost quite a bit compared to employing professional singers.

The "idea" was Tchaikovsky's. He wrote the part for children's chorus.

9 hours ago, pherank said:

 

SFB performs something like 30+ Nutcrackers each year, so the cost of a choir to perform for all of 2 minutes each performance would be prohibitive - that would be my guess.

 

National Ballet of Canada has  a live children's choir for almost as many performances....

34 minutes ago, atm711 said:

To see a passionate "Onegin" I recommend the film with Ralph Fiennes!!!

but his arabesque line's not so hot ;-)

43 minutes ago, Kaysta said:

Count me in the minority, but I still like Onegin and Manon (and R&J),

I really do not think you are in a minority in liking Onegin and Manon and R&J. I am in fact astounded at people saying that they don't like Onegin, it has no dancing in it, etc. etc.