pasdecheval

Thanks for the further information about the Royal Ballet offerings, California. That they don't represent a single season is just fine. I'm glad you're planning to support PNB. 😀

Thanks very much, Volcanohunter! Paris Opera Play has now become irresistible. So, too, I think, has a Royal Ballet subscription. I've paid for some individual Royal Ballet performances in the past. However, you make a compelling case for both subscriptions. Does this make you an enabler? If so, a fine one, and I'm grateful. Being able to watch live ballet in cinema was pure joy for me, something I'd always hoped for; its loss was devastating. Yes, use it or lose it. (With that thought in mind, may I again remind fellow ballet lovers of PNB's digital series, please? The renewal process for the live series is already underway, so digital subscriptions should be available soon.) The celebration of Asian choreography is one of the most interesting aspects of this year's Kennedy Center series and a sad contrast to next year's. It's a rare opportunity to see PNB in live performance. (Incidentally, the PNB 2020-21 digital season included Liaang's The Veil Between Worlds. I particularly remember a lovely PDD with Laura Tisserand.) I also welcome seeing Choo San Goh's choregraphy again, as well as hearing the music he chose.

I hadn't realized that the Australian Ballet had abandoned the idea. All the more reason to applaud PNB for sustaining the practice. Words can hardly express how grateful I am or how much I've enjoyed my ongoing subscription. Have any of you opted to follow the Paris Opera Ballet by means of Paris Opera Play? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience.

I agree. The fall schedule is unfortunately light. The weather is usually lovely then but can be iffy for a longish trip to DC during the winter. Yes, Coppelia will be well worth seeing. Of course, I love seeing pretty much anything by Balanchine and Robbins. I'd also like to see Tiler Peck's Concerto for Two Pianos and Ratmansky's Solitude among more recent NYCB ballets. And maybe somewhat fewer sneaker ballets (perhaps a minority opinion)? We seize any opportunity to see the Paul Taylor company, but like you, have seen Alvin Ailey, with its somewhat overlapping programs, a bit too often in the past few years. Similarly, Mark Morris's Pepperland and The Look of Love were a bit much in fairly close succession, enjoyable but rather similar. I hope Morris brings something a little different to the Kennedy Center next time. Meanwhile I'm still trying to unhear Sgt. Pepper played on a theremin. As a somewhat related aside, Peter Boal has done a pretty remarkable job of blending contemporary ballet into Pacific Northwest Ballet schedules. I can't tell you how grateful I am that the company offers digital subscriptions, especially given how rarely it visits the East Coast. In fact, PNB's The Seasons' Canon program is currently streaming, which has made this by definition a fine weekend. If only other companies would adopt the practice. I realize that there are legal complications, but SFB offered a digital subscription for a year during the pandemic, and I believe I read somewhere that Tamara Rojo might be open to the idea.

Others may be happy with next year's series, as Theo suggests, but I agree with him. This is the weakest schedule in years as far as I'm concerned. Where is Michael Kaiser when we need him? The ballet series improved immensely during his tenure as he scheduled first-rate companies, added two imaginative series, and supported the remarkable Suzanne Farrell Ballet in Farrell's meticulous restaging of Balanchine and Robbins gems. If I remember correctly, the Farrell company was cut adrift not long after his departure, one of his initiatives vanished, and the other was weakened before it seemingly disappeared. The current schedule appears to be the work of planners who 1) don't care too much about classical ballet or for that matter classical music, 2) are hoping to appeal to a different audience for other reasons, or 3) both. (Maybe I've left something out?) Companies once the province of the dance series have now migrated to the ballet series. While the Russian companies are rightfully out of reach, why must the Birmingham Royal Ballet Ballet, a welcome addition, present a full-length ballet to heavy metal? Aren't Dan Deacon and U2 enough? The series was already light on classical music and classical ballet. When we're finally given a respite from ABT's years of Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, and Don Quixote on weekends (we live much too far away to attend week-night mixed bills), why not one of the full-length ballets not seen in DC or a weekend mixed bill, the latter almost unheard of under Kevin McCarthy? Crime and Punishment could prove interesting, but a ballet with more emphasis on dance per se would have provided welcome balance to the series. As to NYCB, I'll be happy to see Coppelia, especially given the nature of this year's series, but have long been grateful that the company usually programmed different mixed bills on Saturday and Sunday. I hope the practice won't be discontinued. Any guesses as to ticket sales? If this year's season sells well, will aficionados of classical ballet receive even shorter shrift in the future? We'll renew this year, but next? That depends.