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San Francisco is  at the KC near Halloween.  Perfect time to book Frankenstein.  TWB did Cranko's Romeo & Juliet at the KC for 2018 Valentine's Day.  Happy audience, great sales in the Opera House.  ABT often programs mixed bills and a full length. Instead...

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Hamilton is at the Kennedy Center summer 2018 and today was the 1st presale for members.  It automatically directs you to findfast and you can't pick your seats.    The KC limited the available subscription tickets.  The whole KC website is redirecting to the Hamilton waiting room which now has over 64,000 in the queue.   Very annoying since I can't do anything else. 

Anyone seen Hamilton?

Links: https://www.instagram.com/p/BevxftVBSWh/?hl=en&taken-by=thewashingtonballet , https://www.instagram.com/p/BfTEbbyDvec/?taken-by=1984baki

The Lee and Perez cast was mesmerizing.   I loved the Cranko R&J done by TWB from costumes including the red cloaks for the ball to sets/staging [giant sun].

Set utilization for choreography is extremely effective: balcony scene [Romeo climbs footings, lifts Juliet over the railing, series of lifts to reach the stage],  climbs down a wall to the crypt, multi-level food fight, cape flowing on UL set,  table in fights.   

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Casting changes but it worked.   https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2018/01/31/review-american-ballet-theatre-ratmansky-robbins-millepied-wheeldon-kennedy-center/ . 

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Nice thing about Bayadere is it's a twofor - Nikya and Gamzatti.  

http://www.postandcourier.com/features/american-national-ballet-in-charleston-releases-dancers-plans-additional-changes/article_ffee92e0-b8fb-11e7-b737-47af396fc9cd.html

• McDaniel, who resigned earlier this month. "But between being hired in June and arriving in September, that group shifted. That left us dancers with new management that had never seen us, and were confused about what to do with us."
• He adds that for the first pay period, the dancers were paid in cash. Their second check came from a company in New York City.

As I peruse the Met calendar I have my annual question.   Why no Sunday matinees at the Met?   Koch, Kennedy Center, etc have Sunday matinees, closed Mondays.   https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/arts/music/metropolitan-opera-attendance-slightly-better-still-bad.html?_r=0   The KC fills the house on Sundays for ABT.   

 http://www.postandcourier.com/features/new-ballet-company-to-take-root-in-charleston/article_9fdc011c-7dff-11e7-bc81-37f4d812c596.html 

More https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Recently-Inaugurated-American-National-Ballet-Fires-23-Dancers-Ahead-of-Planned-Merger-20171026  . 

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....Kolegeva was a flamboyant upper class woman forced on an anguished Solor.   Fouette phrasing and thrust emphasized her perceived win.

Interesting similarities in choreography for Madaveya and Prodigal.   Bayadere looked as fresh as the 1929 Balanchine Prodigal Son which I do not think is dated, and  mime contributes to the flow of the narrative dance. 

I saw it twice.  Curiosity wasn't the driver-different people saw it on the Kennedy Center schedule, invited me, and weren't available for the same show.    Show 1 was opening night with Gomes/Shaw.  We could follow the plot and the lifts were just part of choreographic emphasis.  In 9 days I saw 3 pieces telling a story-Prodigal Son,  Red Shoes, Bayadere.    All had pointe, lifts, various genres of dance.   Red Shoes is cast dependent and show 2 was the only plot confusion.   

Wed cast did OR.  The Mariinsky  brought the elephant [Yermakov was fun-waved to the crowd and did an arm  pedal when it went backwards],  sleighs, litters, and the tiger.   The show is longer than the listed run time-applause and there was a end of show type of standing ovation after Act 2.  Orchestra was great conducted by  Gavriel Heine.  

ON/OR casts:

Nikya- Tereshkina /Skorik

Solor-Kim /Yermakov

Brahmin-Kulaev

Gamzatti-Matvienko /Kolegeva

Magdeveya-Popov

Warrior-Baimuradov

Idol-Tkachenko /Baibordin.  Students from Kirov Academy.

Slave-Belykov /Beloborodov

D'Jampe-Ostreikovskaya, Selina

Manu-Nagahisa /Martynuk and Nagahisa [ran twice].   2 students from Kirov Academy with Nagahasi ON/OR.

Dance of Bayaderes- Ivanova, Mikheikina, Asaben, Gimadieva

Grand pas-Yalinich, Guseinova, Smirnova, Chereshkevich, Solovyov, Beloborodov

Indian-Belik, Yenikeyev, Demchenko/ Lebedeva, Matyshev, Lopatin 

Shades-Martynuk, Selina, Lukina /Ivanova-Skoblikova, Ivannikova, Nagahisa

Lead shade-Svetlana Ivanova  [?]

The 32 shades were perfect.  OR was first tier so shade patterns were clear.  At one point they are in lines DS to US -arabesque and arms in first forming a linking pattern like diamond shaped lace where they almost touch.  

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Woetzel's program has Ramasar/Ulbricht/T Peck, etc and is only 80 minutes.    It's the grand reopening of the small Terrace Theatre and NYCB is between runs.  

 We saw opening night 10/10/17 with Archer, Shaw, Gomes.   Interesting.  Cast dependent.

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