Marquis de Carabas

I found a news item that there will be a lecture about the Ballet West performances of Le Chant du Rossignol (yes, the Hodson/Archer version) and Apollo, with excerpts performed by Ballet West dancers. Not in Salt Lake City though - rather at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Lecture times are 3 pm and 7:30 pm on Sunday, Sept 29. "Ballets Russes expert Lynn Garafola, Professor Emerita of Dance, Barnard College, Columbia University, moderates a discussion with Hodson, Archer, Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute, and Balanchine Trust repetiteur Victoria Simon." The event description mentions that the Ballet West Apollo is a reconstruction of the original 1928 performance and includes a birth scene which is omitted from some versions. (perhaps this should be added to the links page) https://www.guggenheim.org/event/ballet-west-balanchines-ballets-russes

I hope you were able to find a great place to stay for Napoli weekend. I searched a bit and found there aren't a lot of Bed and Breakfast style lodgings in the Phoenix area. The following link may be helpful: metro Phoenix bed and breakfasts. Note the highest-rated B&Bs on this list are in Scottsdale (12 miles from central Phoenix) and Chandler (24 miles). I recently ordered season tickets for Ballet Arizona ("silver front side", aisle seat), will be seeing everything from Napoli through Evening at Desert Botanical Garden. I'm staying at downtown hotels for convenience.

I also loved the music for Traveling Alone. It sounded like some sort of piano quartet. I was a little bit disappointed with Archetypes. It lacked any significant work for the men, who were mostly used to lift the women. It got noticeably less applause than the other 2. On the other hand, the friend who went with me to the Lone Tree Arts Center performance (which curiously was never mentioned on the CB's website) said that she liked the choreography but found the (minimalist) music "grating". Archtypes was the most "modern" of the 3 works. I could never quite figure out the story. I agree with the quoted comments about the music of the Tribute pieces - I felt the music to Archetypes was harsh and repetitive (I've heard more enjoyable music described as minimalist). The choreography of this piece held my attention in spite of the music. The music to Traveling Alone sounded much more "danceable", and of course Embellishments had wonderful music because it was Mozart. Yes, the Sleeping Beauty hints were in the Tribute program book also. I'm looking forward to this production. I've never seen a video of Sleeping Beauty, but will correct that deficiency by ordering at least the most recent Royal Ballet (blu-ray) and Paris Opera Ballet recordings. I'm really sorry that I missed the CB Swan Lake last fall. I understand from reviews and photos that the production had a "traditional" look, which I prefer (the castle scenes looked like a fairy-tale medieval castle, the lake scenes looked like a lake in the woods). I see there is another thread about the fall 2011 Swan Lake - would love to hear more details from anyone who'd care to write. Was there anything memorable or unusual about the portrayal of the principal characters? How about secondary characters (Queen Mother, Benno)? How about dramatic "bits" that tend to vary between productions? Did the Queen Mother speak her mind, and Odette tell her story, in mime, was the mime done effectively? Did the hunters threaten to shoot the swans, how were the swans rescued? How about the new choreography of the often problematic fourth act, anything different or unique about that? p.s. this is getting off topic (to Colorado Ballet) but I currently have seven videos of Swan Lake (3 blu-ray, 4 DVD), and I think all have major deficiencies, for reasons hashed out in the relevant threads. Maybe the best way to enjoy Swan Lake at home is to get a recording in which at least the music is well performed and recorded (maybe Makhalina / Kirov 1990), also order Prof. Wiley's book "Tchaikovsky's Ballets", then listen to the music with the picture shut off, read the book and imagine watching your ideal Swan Lake scenario, choreography, performers, and production.

This is a brief report on Tribute, the last show of the current (2011-2012) season. Tribute was a program of three recent short works by female choreographers, designed to honor the women who founded Colorado Ballet 51 years ago, Lillian Covillo and Friedann Parker. (Personal note: I am a very new ballet fan - the only live performances I have seen are this one, and a recent Boulder Ballet program. I have slightly more experience watching ballet on video.) Although I don't feel qualified to write a detailed review, I enjoyed this show a lot. I was very impressed by the technical ability and artistry of the dancers and the enthusiasm they conveyed for these new works. I would have liked to see this program a second time. There are now several reviews of Tribute linked from the Colorado Ballet website. Although all three ballets could be considered abstract, I thought the first work, Archetypes had the strongest "story". This work featured a ballerina in a bright red leotard who was the focus of attention of the other 16 dancers, with some dramatic sequential lifts by the men. Well, actually, two ballerinas in bright red. First one red-clad lead took center stage, then the other, then the two were both visible for a short time, but that didn't end well. The stage was plainly too small to hold both of them, and the first made a rather hasty retreat, stepping backward on pointe. The last work, Embellish, to music of Mozart including some opera arias, was the most beautiful, with (I think) a more classical style of dance than the others, and striking blue and purple costomes. Now, on to the 2012-2013 season announcement, which I expect will be posted by the time this message is posted on Ballet Alert. I don't want to spread any "gossip", So I will merely report that at this moment, the home page shows the words "2012-2013 Season Announcement", Then, in larger type, the words "(hint hint)". Then, a photograph: a young woman with a crown on her head lies sleeping on a bed; a young man is leaning toward the young woman (maybe he is planning to wake her with a kiss, how romantic!); and a number of concerned-looking people are clustered around.