nlkflint

I thought Joseph Gorak's position in Studio Company was awarded at YAGP. The press release makes it sound as if these dancers were chosen on the basis of their SI attendence. And as I recall, he was not a competing soloist in YAGP and their was some controversy about the award. Where any of the other dancers aware of their Studio selection/contract prior to attending the SI? It just that ABT's summer program has 900-1000 dancers at multiple locations filled with dancers hoping to earn a spot, when many of the spots were already determined. Yet a press release like this muddies the waters on how the dancer "got" to Studio Company. Just curious.

I think you can watch it here.

click on womens comfortsoft TV

Orlando Ballet issued a press release today announcing the Fernando Bujones had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer and was taking a three month leave of absence to receive treatment in Miami. His wife will also be on leave during this time. Peter Stark, Orlando Ballet school director and AD will take on added responsibilties, as will Samantha Dunster, Ballet Mistress and Orlando Molina, Ballet Master. I do not have a link. I can copy and paste the release.

Our thoughts and prayers are with him.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Orlando Ballet Artistic Director

Fernando Bujones Takes Three-Month Leave

(September 27, 2005 – Orlando, FL) – Orlando Ballet announces that Artistic Director Fernando Bujones has been taken ill and will take a three-month leave of absence. He was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. Mr. Bujones will undergo treatment over the upcoming months and will be absent from his duties at Orlando Ballet for the duration. President of the Ballet’s Board of Directors Linda Landman-Gonzalez said, “During the treatment period upcoming, Orlando Ballet School Director Peter Stark will be Mr. Bujones’ representative at Orlando Ballet. Mr. Bujones’ direction for The Nutcracker and Holiday Triple Treat Rocks! will be set by Ballet Mistress Samantha Dunster and Ballet Master Orlando Molina. Also on leave will be Maria Bujones, Assistant to the Artistic Director. Mr. and Mrs. Bujones expect to return to work at the Ballet in the new year.”

Mr. Bujones is keeping his spirits high and, inspired by Lance Armstrong’s own miraculous “journey back to life,” is filled with his usual true winning spirit, determined to get well and return to Orlando Ballet.

Fernando Bujones is a former Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre and world-class dancer. He has partnered with some of ballet’s greatest ballerinas in the major ballet companies across the world. Mr. Bujones was the first American to win the gold medal at the Varna Ballet Competition.

Together with his wife Maria and his family, Mr. Bujones will be treated and will recuperate in Miami. Orlando Ballet and the Bujones’ family ask for the positive thoughts and prayers of his fans throughout the world.

Established in 1974, Orlando Ballet is the only premier professional ballet company in the Greater Orlando area. Under the direction of Artistic Director Fernando Bujones, the 32-year-old organization employs 28 national and international professional dancers, performing both full-length classical ballets and repertoire programs. Via its mission, Orlando Ballet seeks to entertain, educate, and enrich the cultural growth of our community through the highest quality of dance.

Orlando Ballet

Russell P. Allen, Executive Director

Orlando Ballet

1111 North Orange Avenue

Orlando, FL 32804

The loss of Iliana Lopez is quite a loss, both for the company and the school. I am too far removed geographically to know any more than I read hear, and was not aware of her move. We see MCB in WPB. This past year,at the Sat evening performance at the Kravis --Program III-- I accompanied my daughter--a student of ballet. We were sitting in Orchestra level seats in the second to the last row. There were a few empty seats just behind us. Just as the curtain went up, Iliana and two others sat down in the empty seats to take in the performance. I believe she had "set" one of the performances that night. I recognized her immediately. At the first intermission, before she left to go back stage, I very discretely leaned back and simply asked her if she "missed it, being on stage performing." She smiled and nodded, but added that she enjoyed teaching and coaching.

I remember reading on Ballet Talk for Dancers how many young students found her audition classes for MCB's summer program to be enjoyable. She did many of the off site auditions, and was teaching at the school.

She will be missed.

Their email notification said only 200 tickets to be sold per show!

Was anyone at the Ballerina Symposium at Nutmeg yesturday? Did Alexandra appear as planned? Any comments by her about her current hopes and dreams for the future? Her reasons behind her departure? Anything? Did she perform in DancerEye as planned?

I made a purchase of unused Freed pointe shoes for my daughter on Ebay, and they turned out to be from Deirdre. Had her name on the soles. It was quite a surprise (nice) for my dancing daughter. This was last fall and Deirdre mentioned in a follow up email she was leaving for Europe.

carbro:Actually, Marfan's Syndrome is quite complicated, but suffice it to say that there are probably few dancers with it. However, there are indeed dancers with what are considered disorders of connective tissue, often of the mild Ehlers-Danlos type (EDS). Most extreme flexibility is not "out there" enough to fit an actual disease process--more likely an extreme "variation of normal" that a ballet dancer uses to her/his advantage.

I'm not really familiar with the term "hypermobility," which, when I first read it, I assumed meant "moving very fast." As I read further, I began to gather that the opposite seems to be the case: that it has to do with slow, elaborate stretching. Is this term a kind of synonym for "flexibility"? I'd love to hear you elaborate on the definition and give some examples.

Hypermobility is actually a medical term.

Connective tissue proteins such as collagen give the body its intrinsic toughness. Joints exist where a bone meets a bone, and they are connected by muscle and/or tendons and/or ligaments. When one of the connective structures are looser, more fragile than normal, or just more elastic than they should be, the joints will be "hypermobile," and the joint angle formed at full extension is greater than normal. The extention is beyond what is considered the normal "limits" of the joint. For some it leaves the joint vulnerable to injury. For others it allows for natural hyperextension or greater "flexability." However, even from a medical standpoint "more" is not "better." In ballet dancers this can be seen especially at the knee, elbow, and hip joints. Sometimes also the back. They are more "bendable" than average (the joints/ the dancers.) Some dancers are naturally hypermobile. Some stretch their joints repeatedly to break down the collegen and try to achieve more mobility ...at a greater cost.

You can get an autographed copy of his autobiography "Prodigal Son" HERE at the MCB web site.

Grace, if you click on one of the seats outlined in red, another window opens and shows you the view--try it. (Click on one area of the seating map first, then click oin a seat outlined in red).

Treefrog, I found seats for the Cinderella performances for as low as 15 pounds

Here is a link to the page of prices for upper levels. Now I have no idea how far up these are...

online ticket prices

Here is an interactive of what the stage looks like from different seats.

interactive

Yes it is in the book. Will post or PM it later--running late this am.

The New Times (the same newspaper that broke the story, and the writer, at least, seems to have no love for the Miami Herald) ran a news item that another writer, sports writer Dan LeBatard, also "apparently self-plagiarizes."

I am not familiar with the Miami New Times, (I am now) but noticed the most recent article with a link above took me to a page/column with an interesting name "The B_tch.". Seems this women has a column/?byline with this name--guess she runs "hard" stories." Don't think this paper has any love for much of anything main stream.

Here is how the paper describes itself

When New Times purchased a small fortnightly newspaper in late 1987, the Miami metropolitan area was served by two dailies, populated with aging retirees, begging for tourists, and struggling to invent a place called South Beach. And of course it moved to a Latin beat.

Today the Latin beat remains, but a couple of other things have changed. There is only one daily paper. The median age has dropped dramatically. Tourists come to play all year round. South Beach's nightlife scene is world famous. And Miami New Times, now with a circulation of more than 100,000, has become the region's essential compendium of news and information for residents and visitors alike.

Drawing on the talents of an accomplished editorial staff recruited from all across the country, New Times has established a reputation for compelling stories ignored or overlooked by major media, for insightful coverage of local arts and entertainment, and for unflinching exposure of Miami's steamy political life. That reputation for high-caliber journalism has spread beyond South Florida. The paper has won more than seventy first-place awards for editorial excellence, statewide and nationally.

She was a guest teacher at Orlando Ballet last summer (formerly Southern Ballet Theater) for their Summer Intensive and I believe is scheduled to teach again this summer. At least at the time of auditions she was listed as a guest teacher.

Dancing daughter will be dancing in excerpts and/or variations from these two ballets for end of year performance at her studio. She loves having videos to watch to help her understand and prepare for the role. She already has many books with photos and story lines. So which presentations of these ballets are your favorites? Why?

(I realize that they will not be available on one DVD/Video!!!)

Thanks so much.

Jack

Vicarmac is a ballet parent who might not see this now that the boards are separate, but she is from the west coast of Florida and might know of a place--or might not. You could email her and ask if she has any info. I do not think she would mind a PM.

I am from the FL east coast--a bit north of Miami and can;t give you any info on Naples. Sorry

Limited release in south Florida. Was in one theater about 90 miles away for one week. Then in another theater about 100 miles away for a week or two. Nothing closer. This was not until late Jan and with auditions for SI's, was not able to take dancing daughters. This appears to be showing in about one onehundreth of the theaters that Center Stage was showing in. :angry: :green: :yawn: Doesn't make sense. :shrug:

Looks good. Except for the Clear Channel part. Perhaps Clear Channel can help to vindicate itself. Or not. Clear Channel can make for "strange bedfellows."

Danielle, the video often appears on Ebay both new and used. You can also check out Amazon .com by clicking on the banner at the top of this page and all the pages on Ballet Talk. They often have both used and new copies for sale. If you are under 18 ask your folks to help on bidding or ordering.

I believe this is the film. Here is a link.

LINK

Glad they are bringing it back.

I liked the juxtaposition of Degas' green peroid and the Emerards scene, and the paintings with red and the Rubies waiting in the wings. I think they showed little actual dancing as they stressed that Degas' paintings of dancers were almost entirely dancers in the wings or dancers in the dance studio. He did not really paint dancers on stage performing. And, unfortunately they did not show any performance dance from POB other than the clip from the video La Sylphide and another clip from La Bayadere .

I found it interesting how much was actually done in the artist's studio. The the large frieze of dancers putting on/taking off shoes was actually one dancer who posed and Degas sketched her from four different angles! I enjoyed the way they recreated the scenes with "Degas" and his dancer posing, the four individual poses sketched, and then the final frieze.

I was also curious about his interest in photography. Again, the recreated scene with Degas posing and photographing his dancer, the actual old negatives of the same scene, and then the three actual old negatives shown with the painting he produced as a result with the same three poses.

I did not previously know that the colors became more vivid with his increasing age and increasing loss of sight.

Airing in South Florida 1/14 at 9:30 pm EST on two different PBS channels so may be a national feed!! Also airing on both at some other off times (middle of day or middle of night)

Well, I went to check out the movie listings and see where we might go to see "The Company." While I was not surprised to find that it was not playing in my small community, I was surprised to find it was not playing in my county or in the two counties to the north. In addition to the local paper we get the paper from the nearby "big city" and I cannot find it playing anywhere even in the large and populous county to the south of us.

Has any one else checked their local listings? Is it opening only in limited release?

Edited to add:

I searched online and it is not even playing in Miami or Orlando, or anywhere in Florida best as I can tell. Just for fun I searched major cities in the East and it appears to be playing only in NYC. Not even playing in Boston or DC.

mom1, consider a trip to Florida to see Miami City Ballet.