CharlieH

Jack, I’ve never experienced any problem when ordering DVDs or books from any of the international Amazon sites (UK, Japan, France, Germany, wherever). If there are problems with downloads, I do not care because I’d never pay for something that I can’t physically own and place on my shelf.

At the Koch, Lincoln Center. Ballets include Don Q, Swan Lake & Van Manen Evening. I was posted to Budapest in the ‘00s and can attest to both the ballet and opera companies’ greatness. Not to be missed, esp Swan Lake and their national opera, Bank Ban. http://www.opera.hu/

A contingent from the RDB will perform in June 20-24 at Jacob’s Pillow Festival, Becket, Massachusets (Berkshires area). https://www.jacobspillow.org/events/royal-danish-ballet/ How difficult is it to get there from NYC? Any direct busses...or is driving the only way to go? Any recommended lodging options? Thanks for any travel hints!

Family & I are avoiding the Cubans and their same-old like the plague, so this one is “no contest”! Welcome, Ukrainian Ballet.

Like I said, AD-W danced a wonderful 2nd mvt pdd with Sterling. We last saw him leaping into the wings at the end of that movement. (Spectacular grand jete as the choreography calls; no signs of trouble.) He never came out during the final movement. Preston, as one of the five demi guys, seems to have known the soloist’s choreography...at some point switching from one role to the other.

Quick question for Thursday (3/29) attendees: What happened tonight at the end of Symphony in Three Movements? One of the three leading males was missing (suddenly injured? Danchig-Waring?...who looked great in the pdd with Sterling Hyltin earlier) and, it seemed to me, that one of the five demisolo guys had to partner Sterling during some of the finale...causing choreographic imbalance in a lot of the finale, the iconic last tableau, etc. I could also hear a man’s voice from the wings, shouting instructions to the ensemble (“go right, etc”)...one of the five black-leotard demisolo girls dancing alone at times...turning in opposite direction of other demis. It wasn’t horrible but it was bizarre for those of us familiar with this masterwork. Other than that, it was a great night, including Tchai pdd debuts. Will try to write a report later. Getting home late & was curious if anyone else on BA may have known what went on. Edited to add: Now having checked the photos of the five “demi” male dancers listed in last night’s playbill, I can safely deduce that it was Preston Chamblee who graduated to “substitute lead” in the finale. He was crouched front-Center during the final tableau, as the curtain lowered. A tall, muscular & handsome African-American corps guy saved the day. That said, I hope that Danchig-Waring is ok.

I’ve noticed that the US Amazon site is pushing downloads above physical DVDs and BluRays. Probably a sign of the times as more Americans ditch traditional TV in favor of computers. Electronics stores in the US, such as Best Buy, have cut back on the manufacture and sales of DVD players & recorders. It’s all going the way of the old VHS. However, DVDs are still available and easily searchable in amazon.co.uk and other international sites. It’s a little sad that it will soon be hard to physically own a ballet or movie, to place on a shelf, just as physical books are becoming a thing of the past.

Hallberg has a unique character face, i.e., one of his greatest roles is the skeletal Death in Joos’ The Green Table. His physique allows him to excel in princely roles, too, and his face is certainly pleasant enough for princes.

YOT, thanks for this. Re homosexual theme, my friend explained that the two “demisolo” guys are gay, hugging and such behind the backs of their respective girlfriend. As soon as one of those guys “conforms” by proposing to his girlfriend, and the ensuing wedding takes place, the boyfriend is visibly upset, so that he’s the only member of the wedding party to not applaud. All of this seems to inspire the leading guy to grab his suitcase and run away in the midst of the wedding celebrations. (He doesn’t want to live a false life.) Of the two or three legit reviews out there, it seems that George Jackson “got” it but Sarah Kaufman doesn’t mention it. I don’t recall if Macaulay mentioned it.

Just checking in & it appears that no Ballet Alertniks attended the Three World Premieres program at the Harman Hall downtown. One colleague with whom I spoke attended the first night (officially a preview) and said that all three works have their positive points, but the “Big Hit” was Menagerie by Clifton Brown, to live Rossini cello & bass duo. “Highly musical, to the point, full of humor.” The Gemma Bond piece featured hero of the night, Brooklyn Mack, as lone man partnering seven women in difficult PDDs, while Gomes’ piece yet again seemed to focus on his usual theme of a conflicted man running away from a society in which homosexual affairs are hidden. “It just went on forever...” according to my friend. All three choreographers came out for bows, including Gomes, who apparently left for Russia right after the preview and didn’t make the official premiere the following night.

FRA has announced it schedule of live ballet and opera cinemacasts from Paris. Only three ballet events but better than nothing. Hommage to Robbins in Nov 2018 Nureyev’s Swan Lake, Feb 2019 Nureyev’s Cinderella, May 2019 http://www.fraprod.fr/offres_cinema.php?prog=7

Happy Birthday, Petipa! Sending birthday greetings from enchanting, magical Bali, where there’s still one hour to go before March 11 becomes March 12. Thanks to everyone in Russia for reports on the events, whether positive or not. What matters: hoorah for Petipa!

Somova as Aurora in the filmed tribute? Petipa will receive his second burial.

Call for scholarly papers for possible presentation at the Petipa Conference in Moscow’s Bakhrushin Museum (June 6-8). Deadline for your topics and abstracts: March 30, 2018. Entry form is in this link: http://www.gctm.ru/en/petipa_en/ The topics of the six panels seem more intriguing (controversial?) than what’s being presented in St-P this weekend, e.g., Moscow opens the door to delve into arguments on versions, notations and restorations (“Notation and Folklore”). Another is “Petipa: Brand or Kitsch?” On the other hand, Prof. R.J. Wiley is participating in the St-P event, so a few feathers may be ruffled there, too.

Positives: I’m glad that they’ve done away with the guest curators for Ballet Across America. That experiment bombed. Nowhere to go but up. ABT performing Harlequinade. Saves us a trip to NY. Mariinsky coming back with a full-length classic, Corsaire (for the 3rd time). By now we’ve learned to not expect Vikharev reconstructions. At least they’re not bringing Yaroslavna: The Eclipse. NYCB coming back, with rep., rather than full lengths. (We’ve dodged the Martins R&J bullet!) Negatives: Corsaire and Harlequinade are the only full-length classics, other than the usual Nutcracker (again the Ballet West version that was here a couple of years ago). The blurring of classical & contemporary (& Broadway) in one “Dance” series. We used to have separate ballet and dance series. All the more reason to wait until single-show tickets become available. Only two non-USA ballet companies (Mariinsky & NB of China...bringing same old Red Lantern from last visit here). No Royal, RDB, La Scala, POB, Berlin, Stuttgart or other companies that regularly played the Kennedy Center in years gone by. Ratmansky’s Swan Lake recon (by Zurich or La Scala troupes) nowhere in sight.

We now have some details on Gomes, Bond & Brown’s world premieres, including titles and composers. https://www.washingtonballet.org/performance/2017-2018-season/three-world-premieres Looking forward to reports, as I’ll be out of town. Sorry to miss.

Exactly! Or, as in that New Year’s telecast, have Lopatkina bourree out as Dying Swan, in the midst of Beauty’s finale...she who went on record as loathing the reconstructions! Now my biggest nightmare is that Gergiev & Fateev decide to use the Beauty surroundings as background for a potpourri of Petipa PDDs and solos, as is often done in the operatic world with A2 of Die Fledermaus.

Re Harlequinade: It will be Lane/Cirio/Abrera/Forster for me. That was easy.

Update on the March 11, Petipa 200 Gala to be telecast throughout the Mezzo channel’s viewing area. The Mariinsky now shows details about the gala offerings. Alas, Flora’s Awakening was removed from the schedule, replaced by A3 of Sleeping Beauty (which was already filmed for a New Year’s DVD a few years ago). We still get the new The Seasons world premiere and A2 of Balanchine’s Dream. https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill/2018/3/11/1_2000 Last that I checked, Mezzo had not yet updated its site to reflect this change.

April 2. Alexandrinsky Theater. St Petersburg’s annual Dance Open Festival presents the Ekaterinburg Ballet in Sergei Vikharev’s reconstruction of Petipa's La Fille Mal Gardee http://www.danceopen.com/en/?option=com_content&view=article&id=2000

The Vaganova Academy’s web has made available the catalogue and detailed program of its 3-day Petipa Symposium (March 10-12, 2018). Scroll to the bottom and click on the cover of the brochure. Includes synopses of all presentations (Russian and French), photos and short bios of all presenters, etc. http://vaganovaacademy.ru/nauchnaya/seminari/hommage-a-petipa-iv.html

Moscow’s Stanislavsky Ballet holds its own Petipa-200th B’day gala on April 24: https://stanmus.ru/event/441139 ...includes last act of Paquita, the Jardin Anime of Corsaire, and John Neumeier’s version of The Seasons (Glazunov).

I watched this morning’s rally on Russian TV. Valeri Gergiev delivered an impassioned pro-Putin speech. Putin made his grand entrance into Luzhniki Stadium surrounded by the gold-medal winning hockey team and the female figure skaters.

It’s amazingly refreshing that one very powerful voice in St Petersburg belongs to someone who champions the Imperial past and Petipa: Nikolai Tsiskaridze, rector of the АРБ. What a tough, willful character he has turned out to be! And he isn’t afraid to open his mouth and take political stands. Have you seen his latest TV spot in favor of Putin for the upcoming presidential elections? My wife & I were laughing our heads off, not out of disrespect but...Since when has a ballet dancer been so vocal on TV in politics? I’ll see if the ad is on YouTube and, if so, post it here. It didn’t take long to find it: The Academy is not the same as the Mariinsky Theater but, still, the momentum is with a return to honoring the past, no matter how hard the old pro-Soviet biddies kick and scream.

@abatt That’s the thing. At his recent book-signing event here in DC, Hallberg specifically mentioned the importance of his partnership with Osipova and, especially, how the two of them were looking forward to the upcoming “Joint Birthdays Giselle” at the Met, as both stars celebrate their b’days on May 18 (same day; different years). I believe that Hallberg will move mountains and do whatever it takes to dance with Natasha at the Met on the 18th.