pherank

Thanks - the three drawings accompanying the article are new to me. At least I can't remember having seen them before - there may be some 'hidden gems' in the exhibit.

"Me after 21 shows in 43 days" Masha on the performing life (with excerpt from Lou Reed interview) - https://www.instagram.com/p/BnLEAEKBQjw/?taken-by=balletrusse

So who's going to dance the Kochetkova role in Dawson's Anima Animus at Kennedy Center? Or will Ms. K put in an appearance? She's never one to turn down an opportunity.

The question is: who is defining 'functional' and 'dysfunctional'? Was the Balanchine/Farrell relationship similar to many others of its time? Probably. Couldn't it still be dysfunctional? Absolutely, or, it could be defined as a fairly typical, 'normal' relationship of the era - it all depends on viewpoint and the social 'norms' being applied. And social norms change constantly. IS NYCB more dysfunctional than other ballet companies? Or is it simply a larger version of an environment that is typical throughout companies of the stage arts world? There's also the issue of what is acceptable in a particular culture - the things dancers must put up with at the Bolshoi are not necessarily the same as what dancers experience at the Royal Ballet in London. And the rules of good and bad behavior can be different.

Quinten may be referring to her general impression, but as this recent photo from the Tokyo Ballet Festival attests - she is still very thin: I find over and again, that when people refer to a ballet dancer's 'heavy', or 'fat' appearance, the problem is really an ill-fitting or poorly designed costume. A classic example being the Emeralds and Mozartiana (women's) costumes - the bodice makes the tiniest dancer look wide like a fire hydrant.

Life after Tokyo - means life in Mexico: My guess regarding Kochetkova's RB and ENB experiences - they didn't feel she was a good fit as a Corps dancer, and it may well have been her "look" and size. The big ballet companies expect a certain uniformity and style from their Corps dancers, and I can believe Ms. K did not have a Royal Ballet look. But if she hadn't gone to RB, she would never have met Christopher Wheeldon, (and others) who helped shape her career...

Remember this guy? https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmp6MgYB8cu/?taken-by=tanyuanyuansf Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith reunite in Melbourne, Australia for a few days. Smith is now "National Theatre Ballet School Artistic Director & International Artist". He has also worked as a répétiteur. https://www.instagram.com/p/BmpL6xAntr1/?taken-by=damiansmithartist

ABT's lack of faith in their home-grown performers is the stuff of legends. I was never interested in the 'star system', myself. I'm more drawn to companies that have developed their own sort of community.

This video from the recent Tokyo Festival gala is pretty cute: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmwctrrB6Fr/?taken-by=balletrusse Test run: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmhihcYhTEk/?taken-by=balletrusse

This quote relates a bit to the responsibilities of the future A.D., and to Kathleen's statement: SALSTEIN Did you ever do “Fancy Free?” [JUSTIN] PECK I always want to do “Fancy Free.” I ask to do it, and they won’t let me do it. Who are they? You’re on the interim team — just cast yourself. Are you applying for Peter Martins’s job? PECK No. I’m not. [Laughs] I wouldn’t get to focus on the creative things I want to focus on if I were to do that. But I hope to be involved with who that is or what the setup is. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/17/arts/dance/a-ballet-crowd-bustin-out-all-over-carousel.html

Thank you for the heads up, KBarber. There's a single theater listed that is within a half hour drive from me. ;)

FYI: Medici looks to be running a 50% off annual subscription sale right now. Promo code: FLASH50

Not a Masha fan, Josette? 😉 If she's dancing with Kloborg, that generally means it's going to be a contemporary piece. But I haven't found any clues as to what PDD they are dancing at the festival.

Time for another Superman lift video from Tiit Helimets and his partner Mathilde Froustey: 'Lift inspired by David Bintley’s “Tombeaux”. Thank you Mathilde for willing to take risks with me in the studio.' https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmgv66TAVd_/?taken-by=tiithelimets

Apparently at the end of the festival there was a "role reversal" gala: Roberto Bolle in pointe shoes https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmgp2jYBC2L/?taken-by=balletrusse Maria Kochetkova: "My beautiful princess Florine Edwin" https://www.instagram.com/p/BmgqH94hKbN/?taken-by=balletrusse Promenade of the dancers: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmhjD3fhlES/?taken-by=balletrusse

Here's is the link to the NYT article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/arts/dance/who-should-run-city-ballet-a-job-posting-explained.html "The search for a new leader started with a listening tour: 175 people inside and outside the company talked to the search committee and Phillips Oppenheim, the recruitment firm it hired. Out of that came a five-page job description — a “wish list,” in the words of Barbara M. Vogelstein, the chairwoman for the school’s board and one of the leaders of the committee."

I haven't been able to find a list of dances (typical with SCFPA), but Sasha De Sola and Vitor Luiz say they will be performing the Don Quixote Pas de Deux. Lunkina may be dancing the Sospiri PDD with Evan McKie. Skylar Brandt will be dancing the Flames of Paris PDD with Aran Bell. Beckanne Sisk and Chase O'Connell will be dancing Gerald Arpino’s Light Rain and Val Caniparoli ‘s Dances for Lou.

A new article about Carlos Quenedit joining Houston Ballet as a Principal: A member of Cuba’s ballet royalty laces up in Houston https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/article/A-member-of-Cuba-s-ballet-royalty-laces-up-in-13153088.php "He arrives during a pivotal moment in his career, at 32, ready for a comeback after he thought his performing days might be done. He still winces a bit when he recalls what could have been a career-ending injury."

GALA OF THE STARS Orange County’s International Ballet Festival Celebrates 11th Anniversary “Gala Of The Stars” at Segerstrom Center for the Arts Friday, August 17, 2018 at 6pm Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall Tickets: $55-$95 http://www.festivalballet.org/gala-of-the-stars/ 2018 Distinguished Guest Artists: Aran Bell, American Ballet Theatre Skylar Brandt, American Ballet Theatre Sasha De Sola, San Francisco Ballet Matthew Golding, former Dutch National Ballet & Royal Ballet Sebastian Kloborg, former Royal Danish Ballet Maria Kotchekova, former San Francisco Ballet & American Ballet Theatre Sarah Lamb, The Royal Ballet Morgan Lugo, Royal Ballet of Flanders Vitor Luiz, San Francisco Ballet Svetlana Lunkina, National Ballet of Canada Evan McKie, National Ballet of Canada Juliano Nunes, Royal Ballet of Flanders Chase O’Connell, Ballet West Beckanne Sisk, Ballet West

I agree that Kondaurova has become Mariinsky's "contemporary specialist". She's was never intimidated by this type of choreography, as many of her cohorts were (she should be a shoo-in for teaching contemporary dance at the Vaganova Academy). But obviously, things are changing - the Russian dancers are becoming more used to seeing and dancing this type of piece. It makes all the difference to have local choreographers work in a 'contemporary' manner. The dancers need to spend a portion of their year - every year - learning contemporary choreography from the source in order to accustom the mind and body to the new approach to dance/art. In the past, it was always a one-off: bring in a répétiteur to set, say, Forsythe's In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated on the Russian company. But this just bewildered the dancers, and they were mostly not believable or effective in the works.

That brings up the age old questions - Is the dance subservient to the music, or an equal partner? What exactly are a choreographer's responsibilities towards dance and the audience?

Big Red emerging from a bathtub - is that a play on Botticelli's Birth of Venus? 😉 I don't get the sense that the choreography was made to fit Ms. K's best attributes/abilities. It doesn't feel like a true collaboration between choreographer and dancer (even if it was). And that is a criticism I hear of the Isadora piece as well.

Just think of it as an orchestral performance of Prokofiev - with "visuals". ;)

Wow, that Operacast web page is a great service. But it looks like something out of 1997. 😉 Good luck to them.

Another worthwhile analysis of a dance work by Mr. Macaulay - hopefully this will start a trend. How a Mark Morris Dance Reimagines Love https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/arts/dance/mark-morris-love-song-waltzes-breakdown.html 'Mr. Morris’s dancers are barefoot. You watch them not for bravura combinations of arduous steps but for unvarnished truthfulness. Over almost 40 years — the Mark Morris Dance Group was formed in 1980 — they have exemplified something that Mikhail Baryshnikov, speaking in the 1980s, identified in Mr. Morris as “outrageous honesty.”'