Drew
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Posts posted by Drew
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I didn't respond to this earlier, because it's hard to avoid politics in touching on these issues. Of course I'm glad the companies are doing this kind of project, but I find it kind of appalling that the country isn't better prepared with medical grade protective materials for those on the medical front line....So I have a certain ambivalence about these "feel good" mask stories. If medical workers are really in need of ballet company costume shops....then, well, we're in bad shape.
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Atlanta Ballet has announced its upcoming season. The highlight is that Claudia Schreier will be choreographer-in-residence for the next three years. Next year, she will premier a one hour "family" production danced by Atlanta Ballet II. AB II does these one hour family performances every year and I always skip them, but with Schreier as choreographer I may go...Her ballet First Impulse premiered with the main company in September 2019 --I thought it was terrific and immediately wished I could see it again. (For those looking her up on youtube, vimeo etc. I have to say, too, that First Impusle was much more neo-classical than anything of hers I have been able to find online.); Pointe Magazine included it on its list of "standout performances" of 2019.
Some of this season's cancelled ballets will now be performed next year including Giselle. Still no word on who staged it on the Atlanta Ballet website which just lists the choreographers as Petipa, Perrot, and Coralli. I'm glad those three weren't left out, but not having any information about the staging, or any that is easy to find, seems frankly disrespectful to the person responsible for it and to the audience. The planned spring 2020 Juliano Nunes premier has been moved to next season which will also see the return of Possokhov's Firebird. These three works are scheduled for September along with a collaboration with Atlanta Opera with Choreography by Alonzo King and Helgi Tomasson's Concerto Grosso.
I personally am not sure that this September performance will happen and if it does happen I'm not sure my husband or I will consider it prudent to attend.
Giselle and the family event mentioned above are scheduled for February. The 2021 March program includes company premiers by Cathy Marston--Persisting Memory to Gorecki--and Remi Wortmeyer--Significant Others, no composer listed. On the same program...something of a blast from the past (that is, my earliest ballet-going days): the company is staging Ben Stevenson's Three Preludes. Back in the day I'm pretty sure I saw this with the now-defunct National Ballet, but in any case I did see it...A little later I saw an extraordinary performance with John Meehan and Gelsey Kirkland during her wilderness years (post ABT/pre-rehab) -- I traveled to Boston to see it--she was making a guest appearance with...?? well I'm not sure...I do remember that as the lights went down, either the theater manager or, perhaps, the company director appeared before the curtain to make an announcement and the first words out of his mouth were: "Ms. Kirkland IS dancing"--before he went on to say something about the music. The night we went, not only did she not cancel, but she was...well, she was full-on unforgettable Gelsey Kirkland....
Back to topic: The season ends with a doublet of Taylor's Company B and Balanchine's Stars and Stripes. I think people will enjoy that program a lot. And I am always very pleased to see the company dance Balanchine. I do hope the ballet will not be truncated in the manner of Who Cares?
All of the above presumes the company survives the tremendous loss of revenue from this year--which they seem to anticipate doing--and one has to hope that next year its audience returns. I suppose people may be craving theatrical events...but who knows?
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After such a long time away from the stage one can't help feeling that losing yet another season due to covid-19 must be a bad blow for Morgan's comeback whether or not she would be able to stay in Miami. (I've been rooting for her in a big way...)
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On 4/12/2020 at 12:30 PM, JuliaJ said:
Plus, there are plenty of NYC dance fans still around in July. Every time I've been to the Joyce in the mid/late summer it's been full. Smaller theater, but still telling. In some ways it's good that ABT's season will no longer overlap with NYCB's.
It already overlaps just a week or two -- which has rather been a bad thing for me as an out-of-towner, but of course makes sense. But I gather from @Leah's post and others that the plan now is for a shortened season anyway, not a season extending into late July. And this is assuming that in the wake of Covid 19 and its economic fallout the company doesn't go the way of New York City Opera.
Count me as another person rather gutted for Thomas Forster...ABT waited long enough to give him opportunities for major male leads (from the 'outside,' at least, it has seemed mysteriously long) and now...poof! He's not a young dancer with time to spare....and even if he were, ballet careers are unpredictable in a zillion ways.
Very sad for all of the dancers and of course the situation must be peculiarly painful for Abrera...
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"...'PNB is not sustainable without revenue from ticket sales and school tuition, which together account for 75% of our income. There is an even more persistent misperception that large arts organizations like PNB are kept afloat by their generous donors and therefore can weather adversity like this: Again, we are deeply grateful for our supporters at every level who have donated back the cost of their tickets or written a check to help the organization; our future would look very different without that invaluable support – but that support is just one part of the sustainability equation for PNB and many organizations like ours.'”
This, I think, is on a lot of people's minds -- and probably for almost every performing arts organization in the country....
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On 4/12/2020 at 1:54 AM, dirac said:
The Burrows musical concentrated to an unusual degree on the machinations of Mrs. Bennet, who was played by Hermione Gingold. It was...interesting.
Well, she does turn out to be right about almost everything...
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I fear not too many non Atlanta Ballet fans are likely to see this post--which is, perhaps, too bad. Airi Igarashi is one of the company's best ballerinas (my favorite now that the wonderful Alessa Rogers has departed) and, I think, lovely by any standard. (I could wish I had video of her fouettes in the Don Quixote pas de deux performance i saw, just for the -- 'whee....' aspect of it.) Anyway, the company posted the video below on their FB page a little earlier this afternoon: it's the "'Loss' Pas de Deux with Airi Igarashi and Jordan Leeper from Ricardo Amarante’s Love Fear Loss:"
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58 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:
It's also on YouTube, if that makes for easier viewing.
Thank you--it does....
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2 hours ago, volcanohunter said:
The Bolshoi doesn't perform it anymore either.
Yes....I actually did know that--I was just, frankly, irritated by the (old) review's "Created for the Bolshoi and not yet performed elsewhere..." But it may be that social distancing (and accompanying issues) makes me too easily irritated....
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On 4/1/2020 at 2:29 PM, Buddy said:
Hi Drew. Here’s what the Bolshoi site has to say about it. If you click on the ballets in my post, the third above, you can find much information about each performance.
“In 1982, it was the 200th anniversary of the birth of composer Daniel Auber, and Teatro dell’Opera di Roma ballet troupe decided to time the ballet to his music by this date. The theatre management turned to Pierre Lacotte – a connoisseur of vintage ballet and master of restorations. It was decided to bring back to life the lost ballet Marco Spadaor the Bandit’s Daughter by Joseph Mazilier….”
Thank you. They also note at the end that "staging the ballet for the Bolshoi Theatre, Pierre Lacotte promised to increase the number of characters in the new edition and the diversify dances for the corps de ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre – the theatre, which became “his second family” according to the choreographer. And he kept his word." So it's the same ballet somewhat revised....
In other words, too: the Bolshoi do not, on their website, erase the Rome Opera Ballet production (they also discuss Nureyev's role in the creation of the ballet). The South China Morning Post did erase them in describing this as a production that originated with the Bolshoi and done nowhere else (possibly because the writer thought a revised production could be described that way or hadn't researched its history). That somewhat bothered me...it needn't take anything away from the Bolshoi that this originated elsewhere. And Nureyev's role in its history seems important to me too....
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1 hour ago, Buddy said:
This is a mention of the April 4 broadcasting of Marco Spada. I’ve watched it on the internet and enjoyed it very much.
Marco Spada
"Created for the Bolshoi and not yet performed elsewhere, choreographer/designer Pierre Lacotte's reimagining of Marco Spada – a “lost” 19th century ballet set to an original score by Daniel Auber – boasts gorgeous sets and costumes, lively music and above all, spectacular dancing.
"Rogai says: “Forget the preposterous plot about the adventures of a dashing bandit in 1830s Rome and revel in the virtuosity of a truly all-star cast led by David Hallberg, Olga Smirnova, Evgenia Obraztsova, Semyon Chudin and Igor Tsvirko, with a wealth of outstanding soloists in even the smaller roles.” "
South China Morning Post
(Thanks to Ian Macmillan at BalletcoForum)
Was the Bolshoi version of Marco Spada created for them as the article says? That is, I had read Lacotte choreographed Marco Spada for Nureyev and the Rome opera ballet in 1981--I had been supposing the Bolshoi production was (for the most part) a revival of that version..?? I don't know of anyone else dancing it now...
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4 hours ago, Mashinka said:
Here in the UK we applaud the medical profession on Thursdays, we come out of front doors, stand on balconies or lean from windows to clap, shout and cheer, next time I do this I'll be thinking of doctors and nurses worldwide. We're all in this together.
It's become a ritual in several parts of the world--story below just mentions two cities, but I know there are more. A forlorn hope I fear--but but may the positive energies at least boost health workers' spirits and yours @cubanmiamiboy ...
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Fantastic news and something to look forward to!
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Atlanta Ballet has cancelled their upcoming Giselle--scheduled for this month originally--but has said they plan to present it in May instead (in place of a previously planned mixed bill). I think SFB's announcement is the more clear-eyed one. Unfortunately.
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Safe travels (and lots of hand washing) Buddy--
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5 hours ago, Mashinka said:
No, the government wants the population to catch the virus to develop 'herd immunity'. Worrying if like me you're over seventy with asthma.
I confess I thought perhaps you were making a sarcastic remark about the UK's slowness to act, so I googled "herd immunity...UK...Coronavirus" and and OMG!!! -- you were not being sarcastic!!! That seems like the government is gambling with the entire national health system and a lot of lives. We will see what happens....
(Mr. Drew is approaching 70 and has asthma and I'm not exactly young...so...uh...solidarity.)
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4 hours ago, Buddy said:
Drew, if it’s broadcast it should be here.
If “An Evening with Vladimir Shklyarov” is broadcast tonight it should be here.
Thank you—
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10 hours ago, Buddy said:
Video report in Russian.
https://tvkultura.ru/article/show/article_id/358062/
And two quick intros.
https://youtu.be/oLqySjI09cc
https://youtu.be/A42cYcow0m4
(thanks to ElenaK at Dansomanie)
Buddy-- do you know if there will be another live broadcast of the new choreography evening?
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Under the (difficult) circumstances, I think the offer of the streaming dress-rehearsal is a very nice gesture...
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1 hour ago, Leah said:
The little boy was transfixed by the ballet and didn’t want to talk except throughout the ballet the dad kept trying to engage him in conversation. [...]
I've sat near children who can't keep quiet or still, but I have also had this happen before -- and it makes me crazy. Once was rather notably the first time I had the opportunity to see what was then still the Kirov. And it was the company's first tour in the States in over a decade. The performance was Swan Lake at Wolf Trap and a young girl sitting in front of me was with two much older women. I'm terrible at assessing children's ages, but I'd guess the girl was anywhere from 9 to 13. And completely quiet and engaged. But the two older women with her were constantly turning to talk to her and comment and make sure she was following the story etc. etc. At intermission I finally said something (as nicely as I could), but they resumed during the ballroom scene at which point the girl (who may just have been embarrassed) asked them to be quiet. And then they were.
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45 minutes ago, Leah said:
Ratmansky just did Romeo and Juliet for the Bolshoi, I doubt he wants to do it again for NYCB. As he already has his hands full doing full lengths for ABT I would imagine that he probably views NYCB as a venue for his more modern, experimental stuff (as we saw in Voices this season). Didn't Justin Peck do a full length a few seasons back? I gather it got negative reviews, but it seems like he does have some interest in the area and as the Artistic Advisor to NYCB he would probably be the one tapped to make any new productions. And maybe doing Carousel and West Side Story have since helped him in the storytelling department.
I personally have no wish to see NYCB as a home of nineteenth-century ballets or full length ballets — and would probably prefer they commissioned new work if they want to add a full-length work to their rep for box-office. I realize that it is a riskier proposition...(Ratmansky’s R&J was choreographed for the National Ballet of Canada, though it was recently staged by the Bolshoi.)
Edited to add: I would love to see more revivals of rarely done Balanchine like Ballade or this season’s Haieff Divertimento.
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On 2/15/2020 at 6:06 AM, Laurent said:
Yesterday's « Giselle » with Ludmila Pagliero and Mathias Heymann brought tears to my eyes. These two are true artists. They are living on stage "dans ce ravissant chef-d’œuvre de chorégraphie”, as the 19-th century critics were calling « Giselle », they don't just represent. I was thinking of that great Muse of Serge Lifar, Nina Vyroubova, when watching Pagliero's Giselle. Heymann is a sublimation of masculine balletic art. In the end, if ballet wasn’t capable of moving you profoundly, if it wasn’t lifting you up, it would not be the Grand Art it is.
A beautiful tribute....I been longing to see Heymann especially for many years now. (See in real life that is, not just video.)
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Marina Harss has tweeted that Toby Tobias passed away today. She was long one of the ballet critics I most enjoyed reading--and most valued--in Dance Magazine and, later, New York Magazine. As many reading this may already know, she suffered through a long illness--may she rest in peace.
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1 hour ago, kika said:
Herman Cornejo did not do the entrechat six in his variation that others did, but two sets of brises from the diagonal,....
That is a traditional version —you probably know this, but maybe not everyone does—and what Baryshnikov used to do to tremendous effect. For a while at ABT that is all I saw. (For example, I saw Corella do it that way —though less effectively than Baryshnikov.)
POB dancers during the lockdown
in Paris Opera Ballet
Posted
Yes--thank you for the link.