CharlieH

18 minutes ago, vipa said:

As others have said suggested, it would be better as an intermission option.

But union rules mandate intermissions, during which the orchestra must take a break (no playing).

I’m all for educational opportunities, abatt...just not in the midst of a performance. I’m also a bit troubled by NYCB dictating educational time...as if nobody in the audience knows about the music. Just imagine how insulting something like this - snuck in as NYCB is doing - would be in European capitals...certainly in Hungary, France and Russia, where I have lived for long stretches of time. (Not being snobbish; it’s just a fact.)

It reminds me of the Leonard Bernstein tv shows for kids in the ‘60s, marketed to kids even if adults could also watch & learn, if they wished. 

The members of the orchestra may receive a little performance bonus (extra pay) from this? If it happens before the show (as with the docent lectures) or during intermission, it may have to be voluntary? Union rules.

1 minute ago, nanushka said:

I was hoping it might be a Peter Martins initiative that would be quietly dispensed with now that he's gone, but as abatt notes they're still on the calendar for next year at least. I was mildly annoyed to see that one of my planned dates (for a program I can't see another time) is marked. The one I saw wasn't terrible and wasn't long — but yes, I would prefer to avoid them in the future.

It’s probably some Board member’s “great idea” for building audiences! If anything, it will encourage people to avoid shows with See the Music. Just like the fashion-themed galas.

26 minutes ago, nanushka said:

There will be a brief lecture before one of the pieces. Once this past winter they did this before an Agon; the orchestra rose up and the conductor and another person spoke about the music for about 10-15 minutes, with interspersed excerpts.

(They said about 4 times, "Don't worry, we'll get to the dancing soon." If they know that's what everyone's really waiting for, I don't know why they even bother. In my opinion, these lectures should be given optionally, during intermission or before the performance, only for those who are truly interested.)

Thanks for explaining, Nanushka, but...sorry, this sounds like a ridiculous imposition on an audience that pays to see dance. 

Thanks too, abatt...read your answer later. This wasn’t part of the program when I bought my ticket to an already-full show. So I just won the booby prize?

Does anyone know what is meant by “See the Music” when listed on a program? One of my upcoming performances (May 11) now lists “See the Music” among the works to be performed but only on that evening. 

I’m also curious about Justin Peck’s new ballet...still no title? Still no clue as to the Bernstein music being used? Are Peck’s ballets usually shrouded in this much mystery up to the last minute? 

I agree re Flindt, Drew.

Thanks for enlightening me on Neumeier, volcanohunter. I knew about the Danes’ preference for the Neumeier R&J versus the Ashton but not the others...well, except for that gawd-awful Little Mermaid. Just a matter of taste, I suppose. I’ve seen mostly “Eurotrash” from Neumeier but one man’s Eurotrash is another man’s Gem. Different strokes for different folks.

I’m not aware of any Balanchine creations for the RDB...he recoreographed several Diaghilev-era Fokine ballets (& even danced in some) but he was posted there in the early 1930s before going to America. Just the thought that the TASTEFUL genius of ballet was in Copenhagen for a good while. Sigh.

Random thoughts:

Yet another major Western European company turns its collective back on 19th-C classics.     Only two full-Evening classics - Giselle and Napoli - both of which sport non-traditional designs.

Is Wheeldon offering half-price discounts on Alice? It seems to be programmed everywhere.

Did I miss the memo informing the ballet world that Neumeier is the new Balanchine? Somebody please explain the “universal” fascination with this choreographer. To me, it’s beyong logical understand that he is so prominently programmed, especially in Europe...but also the Bolshoi?

Copenhagen has such a rich, beautiful Bournonville rep and historical links with Balanchine, yet they give precious programming space to Alice & Neumeier ?

Does the world need yet another balletic Carmen? The mere word “Carmen” must help to fill seats, I suppose.

Bell registered lots of emotion/passion as one of the featured soloists in Wheeldon’s Thirteen Diversions in DC (Jan 31, 2018). To the summit, Aran Bell!

As for his Romeo debut: I’ll be there “With Bells on!” Ring-ring! 😆

17 minutes ago, cobweb said:

Wow. I would love to see that! But the matinee... 🙁

I’ll likely travel from DC to Aran’s Romeo debut. Tall, handsome and technically wonderful! Now we just need to find a way for Catherine Hurlin to land a Principal role in a full-length classic and all will be right in My ABT fantasy world.

5 minutes ago, Dancemom said:

http://www.abt.org/events/romeo-and-juliet-2/

Aran Bell as Teuscher’s Romeo!  Genius.

Barker may be tall but her tenure has not been a bed of roses thus far. Hopefully, Part’s hiring will be seen as a positive by the many complainers, including the remaining veteran dancers in the RNZB.

https://www.dancemagazine.com/patricia-barker-royal-zealand-rumors-2521861219.html

For sheer physical beauty, as well as classical technique, my vote goes to Evgenia Obraztsova. Sadly, she has been underused her entire career (Vasiyev in both the Mariinsky and now at the Bolshoi). Obraztsova, now in her mid 30s, married, and happy mother of twins, will remain the greatest ballerina who could have ruled.

Youth America Grand Prix finals have been going on for several days in NY. Link to live streaming and schedule. 

http://yagp.org/?page_id=5910

2 hours ago, Vs1 said:

Masha's abt swan mystified. I felt like i was watching a gymnast who didn't know what to do with her arms. Her legs  were fine.  But she was executing steps.

 

 

I respect Kochetkova’s technique and capabilities. I guess that I’m too traditional in my taste for proportions, height and general physique which, I acknowledge, is just my personal preference in dancers (men & women) and does not reflect capabilities.  That’s why I usually wait to casting to be announced before buying tix, especially for the major classics.

Buddy, at WB, the Snow King is mostly a partnering role with a few solo moments. Sarabia was very fine, in great shape. Glad to hear that he is teaching at the WB school.

8 minutes ago, Buddy said:

When I think of freelancing Rolando Sarabia always come to mind. Being a superstar in Cuba and a potential one at the Miami City Ballet he apparently decided to leave and go the freelance route. I thought after Miami City Ballet he could be excellent at a place like ABT, perhaps becoming one of the greatest if he stayed put and focussed. Cristian suggested at the time that he probably preferred the idea of freelancing. He may now have settled at The Washington Ballet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolando_Sarabia

His could be an interesting story as well about freelancing.

 

Buddy, Sarabia is rarely spotted on the stage at WB. This season, I only saw him dancing the Snow pdd in Nutcracker. Very strange. His wife, Venus Villa, is quite active, however.

As for Kochetkova, I wish her the best although I’ve never been convinced that she lives up to the hype. She was a middle-of-the-road dancer in her grad class in Moscow, that I recall. Sorry, I never quite understood her rise in the West. A hard worker with good business savvy  - I’ll give her that. Maybe she’ll be dancing with Simkin in Berlin?

Porte et Soupir! 

What a disappointing season announcement, with all of the repetitions from the current one. Sleeping Beauty would normally get my cheers but with this smallish company? In the smallish Eisenhower Theater? Even with the added resources of the Studio Company and the School, the best that we could hope for is “Pocket Beauty” or “SB Light.”

Surprise! Another try to restore Ashton’s Apparitions, aborted in spring 2017! Hotel already booked...refundable, just in case.

I’ve seen both stagings of Coppelia by Vikharev. The Novosibirsk version contains all of the steps but very simple designs, not at all like the Tsarist-era magnificence of the Bolshoi version. It’s the same reason why, for some of us, Ratmansky’s Sleeping Beauty, with ABT’s cheap-looking costumes, can’t hold a candle to the Mariinsky-Vikharev experience, with the full 1890 Tsarist-era designs, even if the Ratmansky steps (demipointe, low passes, etc.) may be more correct to the era. 

The Bernstein Triple Bill will be shown in the Washington DC area on Wednesday, April 25, 7pm EST. So the USA gets it a month after the live screening.

https://www.roh.org.uk/screenings?location=Washington%2C+DC%2C+USA&showing=&northEastLat=39.0431509&northEastLng=-76.8236885&southWestLat=38.7438731&southWestLng=-77.2054635&centerLat=38.8936696&centerLng=-77.0145760&zoom=10&cinema=bethesda-row-cinema&dateTo=&locationLat=38.9373109&locationLng=-77.00078439999999

I didn’t realize at first that this is the Eifman company’s first visit to Lincoln Center. I’m guessing that most, if not all, previous visits to NY were to City Center, where I first saw them. 

Unless I’ve missed something, this tour is the first in a long time that’s not sponsored by Ardani. NYC seems to be the only stop. 

I learned about this only through advertisements on Russian-language TV channels that I receive through my cable-tv subscription in the Washington DC. They’re very well sold...just a handful of seats left in the uppermost reaches of the Koch. 

The Boris Eifman Ballet at the Koch-Lincoln Center opens on Friday. All four performances are practically sold out. From what I can recall from years past, this troupe counts on an adoring public in NY, although I remember having seen them at City Center.

https://davidhkochtheater.com/Season-Tickets/17-18-Season/Eifman-Ballet-of-St-Petersburg.aspx

2 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

Stay away from Copeland's.

I couldn’t agree more.

20 hours ago, abatt said:

I think the press release is misleading.  It states:

 

"Tamás Solymosi, a former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, is ballet director and artistic director of the 120-member company. "

To my recollection he was a guest artist at ABT, not a former principal dancer with ABT.  His guest appearance was in a principal role, but  this press release does not accurately represent what his status was with ABT.

Something got lost in translation.  Tamas S. was a soloist with the Vienna State Opera Ballet, Austria. His brother, Zoltan, was for several years the partner of Darcy Bussell at the RB in London.