pherank

I finally got around to renting the First Position DVD. I was in no hurry, having read so many commentaries on the film over the last year. And I just wanted to mention that I had exactly the same reaction to it as Birdsall describes so well here:

People mentioned the Japanese mother and how the audience they witnessed thought negatively about her, but my mother, who is Japanese, is the exact same way. I actually expected her to be way worse after reading the comments here. I really didn't see anything wrong with her. Her daughter seems to want to dance. She's not forcing her to dance, and she let her son quit. So she's not forcing him. I don't really see how she was bad in any way. Asian mothers want the best for their children, and they love them 100%. Their whole lives center around their children, but they can be strict. My mother was strict, but it was coupled with immense love. I read an article that authoritarian parenting has a bad rap as "bad parenting" in the U.S. but Asian mothers often use authoritarian parenting methods but almost always coupled with lots of love. That makes a huge difference. I don't think Asians would find her negative in any way. But I do think it is probably unusual for most Americans.

I also did not feel like Rebecca came off as a joke. To me she didn't look like she had it all or was privileged. She looked very middle class and her parents were hoping she'd get a scholarship b/c they were investing in her "career" so money was obviously an issue for them. They weren't rolling in cash. That didn't seem like a privileged person at all. I felt like Miko had a much more privileged existence than Rebecca. I also expected Rebecca to be annoying since I read that audiences mocked her, but I thought she seemed like a nice person who had talent.

Joan Sebastian's story was truly like a fairy tale. He said he looked up to Carlos Acosta, and then he got a scholarship to the Royal Ballet. It is an incredible story. If anything the phone calls with his parents sounded much more like Tiger Parents than Miko's mother did. But then he visited them, and I saw how much love they had for their son, and that balanced it out. I am a firm believer that as long as you love your child and show it, you can be strict and/or mean at times and it won't matter. You just can't be mean all the time without balancing it with love.

And like Elena, I just didn't have any problem with Rebecca just because she was obsessed with pink and princesses - she was a normal teenager, and she had obvious talent. So there she was. And obviously only a few can win the scholarships and contracts at YAGP. But what the film fails to mention is that YAGP is hardly the only way to get into a company. I'd love to know just how many principals and soloists have won major contests, and how many have not. I'm willing to bet there is a large percentage of great dancers who were never contest winners.

I found myself rooting for all of them, yes even Rebecca. I was especially happy to see Joan win the scholarship, my heart went out to him because he does seem to have enormous pressure to succeed (and his family doesn't have bad intentions, it is just the facts of where they are from). All in all I enjoyed it.

And the Aran Bell and Gaya Yemini friendship was super, well, cute. They both came across as great kids with tremendous talent. I really hope they are able to continue on with dance and really develop as artists.

I was more frustrated with the lack of overall details about YAGP and other similar contests. And I wanted to know more about how the scholarships/contracts worked - what schools and companies were offering scholarships/contracts at YAGP and how is it decided which dancers go where.

But if the casts are not announced until one week before the actual performance, what do you usually do? Buy tickets to everything and then try to sell the ones for the casts that you do not find interesting?

I'm asking because I really would love to see Yuan Yuan Tan as Cinderella. I wouldn't mind paying a little extra for good seats, but it looks like by the time the casts are disclosed the best seats might be gone already, or the whole run might be sold out.

Dear San-Franciscans, what do you usually do to get around this predicament?

In this situation, there's no way to know how things will play out until a couple of weeks beforehand (usually). The good news is, and I mean this honestly, there are no 'duds' amongst the principals of SF Ballet, which is one of the reasons they are so highly regarded these days. I'm personally very picky about such things and I can say that even the dancers that I'm less inclined towards put everything they have into their performances, and there aren't that many companies you can say that about. This season, I was less excited about seeing, say, Vanessa Zahorian in certain roles (I wanted to see more of Tan, Van Patten and Kochetkova this year), but Zahorian had the lead in Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour the first night I went, and she was EXCEPTIONAL. Her interpretation was extraordinarily beautiful that night, and the next night when Feijoo danced the same part I just wasn't moved in the same way. So you never know. I've got to like a company that can surprise me repeatedly in this way.

I can also say that many of the principals have the rare ability to excel in both traditional ballet and in modern McGregor-type dances.

Honestly, I wish I could be there myself to see SF Ballet dance all those programs. ;)

I interpreted the press release to mean we were getting at least two different rep programs. I think they did 7 for Eight when they came to the Lincoln Center Festival a few years ago, if I'm not mistaken.

Tomasson's Trio would be another possibility. I'm curious how SF has the money to present Cinderella in full (in NYC) with stagings and costumes, unless they've received some sort of grant for touring the piece.

On a more serious note, I wonder when the casting will be announced. Or do they expect us to buy tickets without knowing who we are going to see?

Most likely the opening night cast will be going, revealed here in this review quote -

"Katita Waldo as the small-minded stepmom witch, Sarah Van Patten as the bullying and vainglorious older stepsister, and Frances Chung as the bespectacled young ninny formed a triumvirate that danced with vicious silliness. Such inventive dance, surgically delivered, is a rare delight.

Dancing to Prokofiev's lush and often melancholic 1945 score, Maria Kochetkova was a pliant dreamy girl, and Joan Boada an earnestly boyish Prince"...

..."But the elegantly impish Taras Domitro as the Prince's best friend and son of the King's valet, danced joyously and inventively. Damian Smith performed Cinderella's father with apt fecklessness, and Val Caniparoli as Ben's father had a comic-serious way with his jousting stick."

Normally SF Ballet is good about rotating through all the principals over the course of a week, so It's possible to get a chance to see, for example, Kochetkova, Yuan Yuan Tan, Vanessa Zahorian, Sarah Van Patten, Lorena Feijoo, Frances Chung and Sofiane Sylve in just a 7 day period. Since it sounds like NYC is going to get a mixed program that will cover all bases, the dancers will probably be assigned to perform particular ballets and not others.

-----------------------------------------

Given this list of choreographers -

Ratmansky, Wheeldon, Morris, Tomasson, McGregor, Liang.., and Wheeldon's Cinderella

My guesses at the works to be presented -

From Foreign Lands

Cinderella (excerpts? and/or Within the Golden Hour)

Beaux

Criss-Cross or 7 for Eight

Borderlands

Symphonic Dances

I've resuscitated this thread to mention a comment from Wheeldon in a recent DanceTabs interview...

Q: The real question is how to move forward in the future. In twenty years, what are all the young dancers going to be bringing to you in the studio?

A: There does seem to be a swing back toward classical ballet choreography. I’m seeing that more and more, not only in the appreciation of the public, but also in the young choreographers who are starting to be pushed forward now, are all classical choreographers. There was a time when the voice of Forsythe and the voice of Kylian was so strong and had such a strong influence on young choreographers that everyone was following them and now it seems that the younger generation of choreographers coming out of ballet companies are going back toward making ballet, which is exciting. Liam Scarlett in London, who I think is coming here (San Francisco) next year, and Justin Peck in New York and Alexei [Ratmansky] are all doing classical choreography. I was feeling like I was the “last of the Mohicans” because I was alone. Although I was very influenced and still am influenced by Balanchine, and Forsythe and Kylian, because they were what was happening, I still feel I want to push for ballet. It seems like we’re a team all pushing the same way, which is encouraging.

Christopher Wheeldon – Choreographer

By Aimee Tsao on May 1, 2013 in Interviews

http://dancetabs.com/2013/05/christopher-wheeldon-choreographer/

It may be unintentional, but he lumps Balanchine in with Forsythe and Kylian, and makes it sound as if that is the non-ballet camp.

New York's Lincoln Center? Coals to Newcastle anybody? I'd say southern California could use a visit from SFB, especially in view of the disastrous season for 2013-14 at Segerstrom.

And I would travel to Segerstrom to see SFB - definitely an improvement over the other 2014 offerings.

Smart move, taking Cinderella. It opens tonight, and according to the website, the entire run of nine performances is sold out.

Well they have certainly marketed the hell out of it. And Wheeldon's name is now starting to have real cachet (not that the general public is going to know Wheeldon from Adam).

A recent interview with Christopher Wheeldon touched on the subject of touring:

Aimee Ts'ao: "In this country, the touring has virtually stopped. It’s unfortunate because people and dancers don’t have that “food” and you need it to grow as an artist."

Wheeldon: "Yes, the dancers in SFB are very good about that [getting out to see things]. The dancers in New York tend to get a bit lazy because it’s all there and suddenly you wonder, why aren’t they out seeing all these wonderful companies. Like Nederlands Dans Theater. Unfortunately they had only two shows in New York because it is so expensive to be there. There were so few dancers at their shows. Perhaps because of where I was sitting I couldn’t see, but I felt that because there were only two shows, I should have seen half of American Ballet Theatre and half of New York City Ballet there."

And for SF Ballet fans, there was this exchange too:

Aimee Ts'ao: "Just a month ago when SFB was dancing Within the Golden Hour I just couldn’t believe what was happening on stage. Somehow all the dancers had risen together and whatever they were doing was like magic."

Wheeldon: "It’s so beautiful when that happens; it’s so special. It doesn’t happen that often, but it happens more often with this company than with any other company I’ve worked with. There’s a magic about this company. Even in work that isn’t so interesting. I guess they just work so well together, they understand each other. They have a collective energy about them and I’m so impressed. They get on with the work. Not to be down on any of the other companies that I work with because I love them all with their various quirks, but this company has a way of getting on with the job with less fuss, so they have more energy to find those connections on stage. It’s impressive. And saying that, I have to get on now and go rehearse with them!"

I keep harping on the orchestras because it was widely reported as a very big deal and breakthrough when Michael Kaiser negotiated for an every-other-year NYCB orchestra appearance at the Kennedy Center. For a company of under-50 dancers like PNB, touring with the orchestra is a very expensive proposition, and the logical solution would be, in a direct exchange, for each orchestra to play for the visitors and get paid for an extra performance for the season if it extends the season.

Touring with your own orchestra definitely sounds un-doable. I thought that normally the company's conductor went along on the tour to rehearse and conduct the orchestra in the tour city, no?

I believe it was money-related: SFB took a huge hit financially when War Memorial Opera House was updated for seismic improvements, and the company had to perform in two less-than-1000-seat venues (one in SOMA and one at the Exploratorium), except for a season-closing program at Zellerbach ("Swan Lake"). It was closed for 18 months, re-opening in 1997.

Fast forward just a few years (2000-2003) and the Seattle Opera House went through the same process (and, as long as the building was being torn up, included an upgrade), and although Russell and Stowell had been extremely conservative fiscally, PNB was left with a mega-deficit (and almost now endowment), losing audience and donors in the years they had to perform in a hockey rink, where the side seats were permanently affixed and pointing towards where the ice would be, not the stage. They stayed a couple of extra years after their original retirement date to put the company back on solid financial footing.

I forgot about the SF retrofit construction - what you are saying about the construction costs, and the resulting lower ticket sales for these two companies does explain a lot. But how to get companies to do exchange tours as part of their regular programs? And, where possible, extend the seasons somewhat to accommodate everyone's needs?

Pherank - I echo you that I'd love to see the NYCB out here.

Ah, but NYCB IS touring -- MOVES, their non-unionized subgroup has been all over the country to smaller cities for the last few years. One wonders if the tough contract with their orchestra has as much to do with this change as the dancers' union requirements. I also remember talking with someone in a staff position with NYCB about the fact that the MOVES dancers were flying from New York to the Vail festival the day before they had to perform. The standard dancers' union contact requires two rest days -- with pay -- when they perform at altitudes over 5,000 feet, as Vail obviously is.

Yes, I thought about MOVES, but as you say, they are the "non-unionized subgroup" of NYCB. It's rather sad that special entities need to be created to make anything happen. I do love the "two rest days -- with pay -- when they perform at altitudes over 5,000 feet" clause. I would like a rest day, with pay, when dealing with a really infuriating and disrespectful client. ;)

I should add that Las Vegas was the closest they got to the West Coast with their last MOVES tour. That's one place I have no desire to go.

There was an abandoned plan during Russell/Stowell's tenure to have PNB and SFB co-produce and co-perform "Vienna Waltzes." Practically-speaking, from PNB's side, that would have meant sending at least part of SFB's corps, and maybe a guest soloist or two for goodwill. I don't think SFB needed any of PNB's corps, since the company is at least 50% larger -- at the time, it may have been closer to 60% -- but PNB could have exchanged a soloist or two.

I have to think that there is a lot more to it than just money - union regulations and licensing issues come to mind. But it's pretty rare to hear any details on all the issues involved.

PNB did do that: they had NYCB (before I moved to Seattle) and Australian Ballet (my first year there). The companies' performances were part of the subscription season.

Funny how these things always occur right before you get involved with something. "Oh, you should have been here 2 years ago!"

One thought I had as a SFB patron, upon discovering that Hamburg Ballet was performing within the SFB's season... Actually, it was two thoughts. First was an "oh, cool!" for the above reasons (seeing another ballet company perform as an exchange of sorts). But then I realized if I was only going to be attending 3 performances of the SFB for the whole season, I wanted to make sure and see as many of the SFB dancers as possible. (Does it frustrate the rest of you when you go 3x in a season and, coincidentally, the same dancers are cast on all those nights?) I like the familiarity of seeing "my" dancers, getting to know their specific skills and nuances, and when a company roster is so large (SFB is what, these days? 70?), one's odds go down. Am wondering if other ballet patrons feel the same. I

Pherank - I echo you that I'd love to see the NYCB out here. Even more so the Paris Opera Ballet. (But I'd settle for the PNB!)

I agree that it can be difficult to decide which programs to pick, as money is an object, and of course we generally lean toward seeing something we know we are going to like. I suppose it all depends on who is touring, and what they are presenting (Swan Lake! Again?!!!)

The POB touring the West Coast of the US? That only happens in dreams. And if the Benjamin Millepied POB does any sort of world tour, it will be after all the members of the present, great generation have all retired (Legris, Bart, Le Riche, Osta, Letestu, Dupont, Gillot, Pujol, etc.)

Here's something to be seen - one of Massine's most popular ballets in its entirety:

"Gaîté Parisienne" - Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo

Alexandra Danilova and Freddie Franklin

Don't forget Maria Tallchief at Chicago City Ballet.

Back on topic - it's really a shame that the big 6 regional companies do not present each other. I could see PNB doing an exchange with MCB, Boston with SFB and Houston with Joffrey. Then rotate from year to year. List it as an add-on for season ticket holders - the same way Nutcracker can be added on. The hosting company could oftentimes provide the sets / costumes, as many have them in storage (and save on transport costs). It would be very good for the fans!

Yes, the ballet fans would love to see more touring, but the cost tends to be prohibitive in this day and age (even with shared sets and costumes). It's not like the days when the Ballet Russes would ride across North America in their own train (living off little more than bread and butter). The theatre, and the train, the theatre, and the train. Oh, those were the days!

SF Ballet, as you probably know, created a relationship with Neumeier's Hamburg Ballet, and the two companies performed for each other's hometown audience, and the experiement seemed to go well. I know the SF audience enjoyed Neumeier's Nijinksky ballet. But having Hamburg ballet appear for a week of performances was a major undertaking - I assume that the companies don't really make money, but attempt to neutralize the cost of touring by having both companies tour in the same year. And who knows? Maybe they make some arrangement to split the earnings/costs.

I'd love to actually see the NYCB on the West Coast.

dirac, that's a great quote, but it's not mine - it's pherank's.

I didn't even notice that myself. ;)

And no offense taken.

And we shouldn't forget Arthur Mitchell and the Dance Theatre of Harlem! I understand that Balanchine was very generous in sharing rights to use his work and other assistance. I gather that NYCB dancers sometimes sent lightly used pointe shoes to the school.

Yes! Excellent list this is getting to be - we may need to consolidate it into a single, neat listing. I remember Jillana (Zimmermann) was being credited as directing San Diego Ballet long ago (I believe it was in the Francis Mason book), but I think she may have actually danced with that company, not directed. Now she has her own school - as do so many of the other NYCB dancers who didn't move into ballet company management.

Pherank, the Defile on the 20th was a special one to different music (Mendelsohn, not Berlioz), choreographed by Claude Bessy especially for the 'guest academies' gala, held one week after the 300th gala on April 15. My understanding is that only students from the guest academies (including Bolshoi) + POB school participated. 'The Real Deal' (with professional etoiles) was on the 15th, to Berlioz' music.

Thank you for the explanation, Natalia. Now things make more sense. ;)

It's frustrating not being able to distinguish any of the dancers in these videos, but perhaps there will be one of a higher resolution to make an appearance somewhere on the Internet.

Don't worry, the Defile is slowly making its way to YouTube. This filming is rough but better ones may be 'circulating out there.'

I knew we could count on the French amateur videographers. ;)

This one says it is from April 20th, and looks to be shot from the farthest seat at the back of the balcony. ;)

It looks like they've changed things a bit to allow the étoiles to emerge in pairs and trios...

I'm curious - besides Helgi Tomasson (and sort of with PNB's Peter Boal), are there other Balanchine-mentored artistic directors running the big companies in the US?

Great question, and probably needs to have its own thread somewhere...

Martins, Boal, Tomasson and Villella are the obvious ones to come to mind. And now, Suzanne Farrell and Lourdes Lopez, obviously.

I think Paul Meija could certainly be considered a "son", but he has had to move about from company to company. He worked with Maria Tallchief originally at the Chicago City Ballet (but that project lasted only about 10 years I believe).

Even someone like Lew Christensen (who danced for Balanchine in the early years) could be considered a "son of", I suppose. It's gets complicated deciding on how much influence Balanchine had on a person's artistic life.

I'm not sure that anyone has ever bothered to put together a list, but between Balanchine and the various Ballet Russes troups, seeds were planted in many places in the U.S., Britain, Australia, and the Continent. It would make for a massive family tree.

I didn't know AOL really existed as a thing people used any more...

I guess this is a coup for AOL (whatever it is these days).

Spoke too soon. Aunis is here.

http://liveweb.arte....Opera_de_Paris/

But no Défilé - that's the sad part. Who wouldn't want to see the défilé for the 300th anniversary?!!!

Just a little off-topic, Homans has an essay on Tanaquil LeClercq in the May issue of Vogue.

Thank you for mentioning it. I read it at the grocery store the other day. I was underwhelmed but I always have high expectations regarding any mention of Le Clercq. I could see where Homans was trying to go with it. Perhaps tying in the artistic presentation and public perception of catastrophic illness (the mythology of Le Clercq's polio being related in whispers by students at the School of American Ballet; the romantic depiction of death by Ravel and Balanchine in La Valse). All that we imagine in a morbid, romantic sense vs. the excruciating reality of taking care of someone... For example, Homans described her late husband's death from ALS (I think) very well. But it wasn't fair of her to imply that Balanchine immediately dumped Le Clercq after she contracted polio. How I wish writers paid more attention to such important details. I'm still wincing from the obituaries of Maria Tallchief.

Well put, Neryssa - I think you've covered the important points about the article. I'm not a Homans 'hater', but she does have a tendency to reduce and compress information to the point where the meaning, the life behind the facts, gets distorted and gives people the wrong impression. Le Clercq and Balanchine were married approximately 17 years and almost 13 years of that was during the 'polio era' of her life, so it wasn't like he gave her "the old heave-ho" once she contracted polio. But since Homans devotes (I recall) one single sentence to explaining the end of their relationship, the reader is left with a bad impression about Balanchine. But it was much more drawn out and complicated than that (as relationships are). And Balanchine was somewhat unique in the way that he could maintain cordial relationships, and working relationships, with pretty much every woman he was married to, or had some manner of 'affair of the heart' with. Mr. B was no Don Draper.

I did appreciate what she had to say about chronic disease and its effects on the mind/body relationship, making the body insufferably important and burdensome. I can relate to some of that myself.

As much as I love certain aspects of the Taras and Buckle books on Balanchine, both are lacking in important information. Charles M. Joseph's "Stravinsky and Balanchine", is an excellent study, but it has its particular focus which is necessarily going to steer clear of anything not pertaining to the relatioinship between those two artists. Francis Mason's "I Remember Balanchine" is in some ways, the most important record of the group, because it provides so many first-hand, wide-ranging views and opinions of life with Balanchine. That is the one book that makes it clear how complex it can be to piece together someone's personality, and relationships, and how subjective the whole undertaking is. I sincerely hope that Homans takes the time to create a balanced, and detailed overview of Balanchine's life, and doesn't just leave us with a laundry list of items that fulfill Jennifer Homans' thesis (leaving out all the memories and experiences that seem to conflict with her premise).

http://liveweb.arte....caise_de_Danse/

This is the program of the gala, which took place on April 15. Jacques Garnier's ballet and the défilé are not included (unfortunately).

http://www.operadepa...e-danse/detail/

Thanks for this link, Volcanohunter - Nicely filmed performance.

I haven't heard anything about this project yet, but I would be glad to see more material about Massine -- he was extremely influential in his time, and we don't have nearly enough about him in the literature.

As Massine was often referred to as the most popular, and 'greatest', choreographer of his time, it makes sense to preserve whatever can be, and inform the modern audience of his accomplishments. Even if opinions of his ballets have changed over time, I think it's still important to do the investigative work, as part of a general cultural preservation.

For Balanchine supporters I suppose Massine and Lifar have always been seen as the 'enemy' (well, for some people), though I don't think Balanchine and Massine ever had any particular bad blood between them. It was the Ballet Russes management that gave the young Balanchine a raw deal. And Massine's character driven approach was necessarily different from what Balanchine wanted to focus on. Massine was simply more popular for many years. But it's almost like comparing a popular music artist with a classical composer - the approach, and the audience, do tend to be different.

The ticket has been sold.