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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 12, 2012 AVI SCHER & DANCERS presents An Evening of World Premieres featuring ABT Principal Herman Cornejo and Boston Ballet Principal Misa Kuranaga, among others April 7-9, 2012 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater PLEASE JOIN US: Saturday, April 7 at 8pm Sunday, April 8 at 3pm Monday, April 9 at 8pm Avi Scher & Dancers presents its third New York Season, unveiling three World Premieres, from April 7-9, 2012 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 W. 55th Street, NYC (at Ninth Avenue). Performances: Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 3pm, Monday at 8pm. Tickets are $29 ($16 for students) and are available at http://www.smarttix.com or by phone at 212-868-4444. Avi Scher & Dancers provides audiences with the unique opportunity to see brand new works by choreographer Avichai Scher in intimate venues at affordable ticket prices. Guest artists from the world's most celebrated ballet companies will be featured in each performance. The World Premieres include an as-yet-untitled pas de deux, featuring Herman Cornejo, a principal with American Ballet Theatre, and Misa Kuranaga, a principal with the Boston Ballet. The two stars have danced together in many galas and festivals and have formed a celebrated partnership. This is the first work created specifically for the pair and will mark their first performance together in New York City. The piece is set to music written for the guitar by Heitor Villa-Lobos, and will be performed live onstage by Guitarist Nate Brown. A second pas de deux is performed with music from A Midsummer Night's Dream and has a contemporary, humorous touch. The third Premiere features ten dancers, including six corps members from American Ballet Theatre, and is set to an electronic score by various composers. An excerpt from Scher's 2010 work, Touch, including Joffrey Ballet dancer Derrick Agnoletti, will complete the evening. Avi Scher & Dancers was formed in August of 2008 by emerging choreographer Avichai Scher. The company's mission is to build new audiences for neoclassical and contemporary ballet by presenting top quality dancers and new works in small, affordable venues. The company has performed NYC seasons at the Ailey Citigroup Theater and City Center Studio 5, and appeared at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out, and many festivals in New York City. Avichai Scher was born in NYC and raised in Israel. He returned to New York to study on scholarship at the School of American Ballet for eight years. There he had the opportunity to perform Fritz and the Nutcracker Prince with the New York City Ballet in The Nutcracker for four seasons. A desire to work with many different companies and choreographers took him on a journey, dancing with eleven different companies in six years: Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Washington Ballet, Ballet San Jose, Joffrey Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, European Ballet, Ballet British Columbia, Carolina Ballet and Ballet X. Some standout roles have included: Puck in Ashton's The Dream, working with Sir Anthony Dowell, "Red-Man" in Elemental Brubeck, choreographed and staged by Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris's A Garden, Michael Smuin's Shinju, Matthew Neenan's Steelworks, and Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs. Scher always had the desire to be a choreographer and his first professional commissions came at age 18, creating Jouons for American Ballet Theater Studio Company, and The Perilous Night for Miami City Ballet. Since then he has had works at: Ballet West and Ballet West II, Miami City Ballet School and San Francisco Ballet School's annual showcases, Washington Ballet Studio Company, Harvard University, Festival Ballet Providence, Manhattan Youth Ballet, West Wave Dance Festival, Ballet Builders, Sacramento Ballet, and Shut Up & Dance: Dancers of Pennsylvania Ballet. Dance Magazine recognized Avi's choreography by naming him one of the "Top 25 To Watch," and he is the recipient of the Strassler Excellence Award from Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. In 2011, Avi Scher & Dancers performed a new commission for the Guggenheim Works & Process series, which featured principal dancers from Boston Ballet. Avi Scher & Dancers has received a challenge grant for the second year from Michael M. Kaiser, President of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The grant challenges AS&D to raise $10,000 in new donations, to receive $10,000 from Mr. Kaiser. For more information, visit http://www.avischer.com. #

We're happy to meet you, Isasbelka! Don Quixote is certainly one of those ballets that can hook both new ballet fans and lapsed ones. We're glad that it worked on you so that you've found us. I hope you'll check in regularly and tell us, from the fan's viewpoint, what's happening these days on the Dutch ballet scene. Welcome to BalletAlert!

I remember when it happened. It was the same weekend as Gelsey Kirkland's debut in ABT's Swan Lake. The New York Times sent its chief dance critic, Clive Barnes, to Chicago to cover this once-in-a-lifetime performance, while it assigned Anna Kisselgoff to the Kirkland debut in a role that, no doubt, she'd repeat many times over the years. Kisselgoff panned not only Ms. Kirkland but the audience, both, IMO, unjustly (I was there). Of course, as it turned out, Gelsey never did dance Odette/Odile again, at least not with ABT,* and Baryshnikov danced Prodigal several times during his brief tenure at NYCB and again when he returned to ABT as Artistic Director, having acquired performing rights to it. *There was a tape of her dancing Act II of Swan Lake with a smaller company (Kansas City?), but if she ever danced the full ballet again, I'm unaware of it. In Dancing on my Grave, she expresses disdain for Swan Lake.

Yes, there is, ViolinConcerto, if you scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Members' reviews, previously in this topic, can now be found here.

A friend reminded me that years before the Monkees, Davy Jones began his American career as the Artful Dodger in the Broadway production of Oliver! For that, he was nominated for a Tony Award. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-fLLuQgIss&feature=share

The cute one. My inner 10th-grader is sitting right beside Helene's inner 5th-grader. The Monkees were easy, non-threatening, one-dimensional entertainment at an age (for me and for the culture at large) when things were getting complicated and confusing. They provided nice spot to retreat to.

And don't overlook the web-only interview that follows. It's better than the feature, IMO. I applaud Misty for having taken on the extra job (and she seems to treat it as a real job) of putting herself in front of youth groups and encouraging -- without candy-coating -- the youngsters to hold fast to their dreams. Ballet has a word for people like that -- mensch.

From the publicist: Brooklyn Center presents GISELLE - 4/15 Moscow Festival Ballet Sergei Radchenko, Artistic Director Giselle Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 2pm At Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College continues its 2011-2012 World Stages series with the Moscow Festival Ballet's production of Giselle on Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 2pm. Haunted forests, quaint mountain villages, mystic legends of fairies and ghostly visitors, forces of nature, love overcoming death - these images and themes are interwoven into the two-act ballet Giselle, considered by many to be one of the greatest romantic ballets of all time. First presented in 1841 by the Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris, this masterpiece tells the story of a peasant girl named Giselle whose ghost, after her premature death, protects her lover from the vengeance of a group of evil female spirits called Wilis. The original production was choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, with music by Adolphe Adam and a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-George and Théophile Gautier. The choreography in modern productions generally derives from the 1884 revival by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Russian Ballet (now the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet). The role of Giselle is one of the most sought-after in the ballet repertoire, requiring that the ballerina have impeccable technique to execute the physical demands of the role, while masking the difficulty with strong dramatic skills and outstanding grace. For the Moscow Festival Ballet's 2012 U.S. tour, the title role will be danced by Ekaterina Egorova and Maria Sokolnikova. Dmitry Shchemelinin and Aidos Zakan share the role of Count Albrecht, Giselle's lover. About Moscow Festival Ballet Moscow Festival Ballet was founded in 1989 when legendary principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, Sergei Radchenko, sought to realize his vision of a company which would bring together the highest classical elements of the great Bolshoi and Kirov Ballet companies in an independent new company within the framework of Russian classic ballet. Under Radchenko's direction, the Moscow Festival Ballet has commissioned new works from within Russia and abroad, complimenting a repertoire of twentieth century classics such as Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, Legend of Love, Stone Flower and The Golden Age. Mr. Radchenko has also researched the original choreography and stage productions of several of Marius Petipa's classic ballets, including new productions of Don Quixote and Paquita, and a recreation of Jules Perrot's and Jean Coralli's Giselle. Since its inception, the Moscow Festival Ballet has completed two tours of Europe, with extraordinary receptions in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Turkey (the Istanbul Festival) and Greece (the Athens Festival). The company has also toured extensively throughout the United States and recently completed a two-month tour of Japan, Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong. Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' presentation of the Moscow Festival Ballet's Giselle is sponsored, in part, by the Macy's Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and The Harkness Foundation for Dance. About Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College Founded in 1954, the mission of Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College is to present outstanding performing arts and arts education programs, reflective of Brooklyn's diverse communities, at affordable prices. Each season, Brooklyn Center welcomes more than 65,000 people to the 2,400-seat Walt Whitman Theatre, including 46,000 schoolchildren from over 300 schools who attend its SchoolTime educational series, one of the largest arts education programs in the borough. Brooklyn Center's presentations explore both the classical traditions and the boldest contemporary performances, embracing the world culture that defines Brooklyn. As a dance presenter, Brooklyn Center has presented the New York, US, and world premieres of more than 150 dance, and more than 50 dance companies have made their New York debuts at Brooklyn Center, including the Miami City Ballet, the Missouri, Washington, Chicago, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Oakland Ballets, the Hubbard Street Dance Company, Italy's Aterballetto, France's Ballet du Nord, Iceland Dance Company and Canada's Ballet-théâtre Atlantique. Moscow Festival Ballet's Giselle Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 2:00pm Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College 2/5 trains to Brooklyn College/Flatbush Avenue On-site paid parking available Tickets: $45/$36 Online orders: BrooklynCenterOnline.org Box Office: (718) 951-4500, Tuesday - Saturday, 1pm - 6pm Groups of 15 or more: (718) 951-4600, ext. 3326 Facebook: www.Facebook.com/BrooklynCenterforthePerformingArts Twitter: www.twitter.com/BrklynCtr Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support for the 2011-2012 season is provided by: Brooklyn College; Target; Con Edison; National Grid; TD Charitable Foundation; the Herman Goldman Foundation; and Kings Plaza Shopping Center. Additional support provided by CNG Publications and The Brooklyn Eagle. The Sheraton Brooklyn New York Hotel is the official hotel of Brooklyn Center's 2011-2012 season. Backstage catering is graciously provided by Applebee's. Brooklyn Center gratefully acknowledges generous support from New York City Councilman Albert Vann and the Department of Youth & Community Development; New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn; and Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Kate Levin. # # #

Thanks, Mr. O'Brien, for the memories ...

There are more familiar (to me) names this year than in past seasons. After telling myself that I wasn't going to get involved this year, my interest is tickled. See you there!

As I was learning about the history of NYCB, I had come to believe, just intuitively, that the Adagio Movement of Symphony in C was a direct evocation of Tanaquil LeClercq, whom I'd never seen dance in person or, to that point, on film. It was puzzling, because I knew that the ballet was not originally created on NYCB dancers. When I saw Palais de Cristal, at the same time that Helene did, I understood how that intuition about LeClercq might yet be valid. The choreography for the lead dancers of the two 2nd Movements were actually very different. Symphony in C's is perhaps the most organic choreography I've ever seen, in the sense that it is a continuous unfolding of itself into itself. Palais doesn't develop that way. I've seen the film from which this was taken. I loved seeing Thesmar (whom I remember from her visits to NYCB, when she danced in Concerto Barocco and In G Major) coaching this section of Palais, I loved even more the section where Violette Verdy coached Lucia Lacarra and Cyril Pierre in Liebeslieder Walzer, possibly reedited and recycled from the same Liebeslieder sessions that were featured in Violette et Mr. B. Watching it again in this new context, where it followed the section about Thesmar coaching Palais de Cristal, I couldn't help but imagine what it must be like to be one of those dancers. Verdy lets them dance four or five phrases, all the while saying, "Oui! Oui!" or sighing a deeply satisfied, "La!" before giving corrections, at one point saying, "I hate to stop you, because you are so beautiful." Wow! Talk about positive reinforcement! What an inspiring coach she is!

Windows XP/Firefox 10.something. I don't see subtitles in the View New Posts menu, either, only on the topic's page once it's open.

Welcome out of the lurker shadows, trieste! Casual fans are every bit as welcome here as rabid ones. All we require is an interest. Very nice to meet you, and we'll look forward to reading your reactions to those events you see casually.

Wishing you success in your search, Mariana.

The library is presenting the exhibition "Politics and the Dancing Body" from February 16–July 28, 2012. Lucky me, I'll be visiting the DC area at least twice during that period. Meanwhile, I can browse LoC.gov's companion mini-site: http://myloc.gov/exh...s/default.aspx#

Not to take anything away from Fonteyn, because these are exquisite. But, she does benefit from the fact that she has a lot of time to cover a very short distance. This allows her to take the tiniest bourees. Of course, we've all seen dancers bouree en place who were busier than this, but Fonteyn's bourees would have looked very different if she were Myrtha crossing the Met's vast stage.

I'm thinking of Makarova, Kirkland, Cojocaru and others, and I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. Would you care to elaborate? I think the "type" the AD favors these days is the "type" known as foreign guest star. It seems to me that it would be in the company's long-term interest to nurture dancers through the ranks. So much promising talent reaches the soloist level and seems to stall there. What happens? Have they all achieved their maximum potential? It's not impossible, but I can't believe it.

Welcome to BalletAlert, Setpoint, and thank you -- not only for your post but for your efforts to prod the release of video of the ballets. It's good to learn that Ms. Sorrin "would support producers who wanted to" release videos. Perhaps there's hope for the future , but I'm not holding my breath.

At NYCB tonight, an artist performed who was most definitely not on the company payroll. For Ratmansky's Russian Seasons, we had a lovely mezzo, Irina Rindzuner. It's safe to assume that she is also an AGMA member, but the terms of her contract are not likely the same as the dancers'. Sandy, the studio where I used to take class was big, airy, well ventilated but not air-conditioned. I never took class when it was warmer than 85 degrees out (and I was young then!) because I learned that, with New York humidity, it was easy to get light-headed. For me, class was my recreation. I heard stories, though, of days when dancers passed out from exertion in the heat. And cold can be brutal on the muscles! During the time I was dancing, I sat in front of the office air conditioner. There was nothing I could do to escape the cold air but wear a cardigan tied around my neck and draped over my shoulders, which drew ridicule from colleagues. Still, all summer long, my neck and shoulder were stiff. So I was pleased to read the "minute detail" about studio temperature. Good for the union! I suspect that the tidbit about when someone can discuss things with dancers is because of the unique nature of what dancers do. If a ballet master approaches a dancer with a correction, sooner or later, talk will turn to action. Enforced rest is there for a reason, and if the dancer tries out the suggestion (all but inevitable), s/he's not resting.

I remember her from the soap opera she acted in during the '60s. The article mentions it as "Doctors and Nurses." That -- the title -- I forgot, but I remembered Bethune's special light. It made sense when I learned that she'd been a dancer. The article portrays her as an especially empathetic and generous soul. Perhaps it was that quality that shone through the tv screen. Such a tragedy. Condolences to her friends and family.

I haven't reported in yet this season, but I am compelled to post an appreciation of Ms. Tiler Peck, who has matured into such a complete ballerina that I am awestruck (not too strong a word) by every role she dances. The first time I saw her this season was in Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux. It was the third number on a program, and arriving late, the first one I saw. During the pause between ballets 2 (Tombeau) and 3 (Tchai Pas) on the program, I found myself seated next to a good friend. After the adagio, I turned to her and said, "I could go home now." She was just that satisfying. The purity of her dancing -- completely without mannerism -- nothing tossed off, every in-between the in-betweens was expressive. My eyes were moist. Needless to say, the bravura of her allegro and coda were absolutely effortless and crystal clear. I saw her next in Who Cares?, in McBride's role (The Man I Love and Fascinatin' Rhythm). I have seen literally every cast of Who Cares? that City Ballet has ever offered, and then a handful of others. I had no idea all that was in The Man I Love. Peck gave us not only a young woman who was fantasizing about the joy of falling in love, she gave us someone with a history. You could see, the trepidation of entering a new relationship, the pain of her last one(s), the giddiness of falling in love, the anticipation and, finally, her decision to go for it. Yes, all that was in there. Who knew? And how on earth did she know? Most remarkably, she did it all without acting. It was all in her timing, musicality and gesture. I hope that somewhere, someone managed to capture that performance on video. Tonight, after her sparkling performance in Allegro Brilliante, Tiler came back and danced Fancy Free's pas de deux with Tyler Angle. I love the Tiler-Tyler pairing. What struck me about this performance was, we knew from her first entrance that, as much as the three sailors were looking for girls, she was also on the prowl. Perhaps her sweetheart was overseas, but she felt an emptiness that she needed to fill. Most of the dancers I've seen in this, including Stephanie Saland, who usually exuded sexuality, were as proper as the heroines in 1940s movies. This gal wasn't. She needed someone to hold her through the night, and while she wasn't falling in love with Sailor #2 (he WAS falling for her!), he'd do just fine. I've seen other fine performances over the course of the season, and I don't mean to give those extraordinary dancers short shrift, Tiler's sudden blossoming from an exceptional talent to an artist of extraordinary depth has been so stunning, I couldn't let it go by. I've never seen anything like it. And for what it's worth, although he isn't one of my favorite dancers, Amar Ramasar certainly earned his pay tonight. Tiler may have danced in two ballets, but Amar danced in all three, none of them easy. From Allegro Brillante, he went on to Russian Seasons before finishing as the Third Sailor in Fancy Free. Mega-ditto.I have consistently been seated in good seats in the Second and Third Rings. Once, I was seated in the Fourth Ring, which was fine, and once, I was given a seat at the far end of the fourth row of the orchestra, which was awful, since Union Jack was on that bill. Tonight, I arrived at the box office about 15 minutes before curtain. The gentleman asked me what I liked. "Oh, Second or Third." I gave him $17, and he gave me Second Ring, Row A, seat 108 -- dead center. (Obviously a returned ticket). Forgive the redundant smiley but . The only drawback is that when we were all seated in the 4th Ring, it was easy to find friends. Now, not so much.

Damn straight!

Please! Don't apologize! Some readers who know me from reading my posts will be surprised that I haven't actually seen Eifman on its various visits to New York. People who know me better will chalk that up to what I admit to my prejudiced, parochial snobbery. (Shame on moi!) I tell myself that it's good for me to go once, but then I answer back that it doesn't sound like my thing. I am drawn to ballets that don't depend on overt theatricality (which is, in and of itself, not a bad thing at all), but instead offer strong choreographic content in response to the music. Which doesn't mean that Eifman isn't good at what it does. By comparison, in most of its repertory, New York City Ballet will look stripped down and sleek. Many of its best ballets (and its best ballets, IMO, are Balanchine's) are done in simple costumes, even just leotards. But the invention of steps and patterns never fails to fascinate me. Over the past almost 30 years, NYCB has acquired many ballets by a wide range of choreographers, but the core of its rep is still Balanchine and the more show-biz-oriented Jerome Robbins, augmented by Martins (generally with a contemporary edge) and Wheeldon (more eclectic). ABT, especially in its seasons at the Met, offers something in between. It offers grand productions of the 19th Century classics. Not all ballet goers are satisfied with the productions themselves, but we do keep going back. I hope others will respond to your question. I realize my answer is very slanted, and it certainly isn't the only opinion. You may glean some impressions as you read though the forums. Please continue to ask questions. Welcome, phoenix, to BalletAlert! Editing to add: You posted this in a forum "Ballet in China." Even though you first encountered the Eifman Ballet in Shanghai, it is not a Chinese company, so I'm moving your post and my response out and giving them a topic of their own.

It's a pleasure to welcome you publicly, Nick. I share Cristian's gratitude for your clips. Your background is very impressive. I'm sure you have valuable insights to contribute to some of our ongoing discussions. And of course, we'd love to hear about the ballet scene "Down Under" from one who's there.