nlkflint

This video shows up on Ebay frequently.

From the MCB:

Congratulations to the following dancers on their promotions this season. Carlos Guerra, Mikhail Ilyin, Michelle Merrell, and Yann Trividic have been promoted to principal dancers. Katia Carranza and Renato Penteado have been promoted to principal soloists and Ashley Knox has been promoted to the corps.

You will also notice some new dancers with the Company. Haiyan Wu from the National Ballet of China joins Miami City Ballet as a principal dancer and Xiaosong Li also from the National Ballet of China will be a new member of the corps. Also joining us this season as members of the corps are Suzanne Limbrunner, formerly with Orlando Ballet; Allyne Noelle formerly with Inland Pacific Ballet; and apprentice Jeanette Delgado who comes from Miami City Ballet School.

A Physics Ballet: On July 17, the Institute of Physics, a leading international professional body established to promote the advancement of physics, announced a unique dance and science partnership. The year 2005 has been dubbed ‘Einstein Year’ because it marks 100 years since the publication of three of his most groundbreaking papers. In commemoration of this event, the Institute has commissioned Rambert Dance Company to produce a new work based on physics and Einstein’s theories. The work will be choreographed by Rambert’s new Artistic Director, Mark Baldwin. It will receive its world premiere at Sadler’s Wells, London, in May 2005.

Thought this looked interesting. I don't believe I had seen this mentioned on Ballet Talk yet. I will look for any additional info.

Editing to add:

Here is the official link http://physics.iop.org/IOP/Press/PR5303.html

BalletFLaMom I am laughing OUT LOUD. Yes I can. When I saw the shoe I actually thought it was, in fact, a man's shoe and I pictured it on just that type fellow in the audience. When I saw that it was a woman's shoe I felt a little relieved, as a woman would know better. I really can see just the gentleman you speak of wearing this shoe. And showing it to his friends.

Wow, I am not sure which surprised me more, the shoe or the price of $235!! I did have to look to see if it was a man's or woman's shoe (woman's) as the Degas picture seemed to clash with the "loafer" style of the shoe.

So where would one wear this shoe? And, pray tell, with what would you wear this shoe?

You really can't go wrong with a seat at the Broward Center or the Kravis. They can be purchased on-line and you can see exactly which seats you are getting when you go directly to the Kravis site or the Broward site. You may also be able to order at MCB site--if I recall they don't quite have the exact seats when you order online but if you call you can get exactly what you are looking for. Have a seating chart (on-line) in front of you when you call.

We have been to both (my dancing daughters and I) and once at Kravis and once at Broward we decided late and had box seats available--apparantly they were held in case of a VIP or donor requesting additional tickets and then were available for us.

At the Kravis I like the first level above the orchestra/floor level. I believe this is the "Grand Tier" and first and second row are wonderful. Actually any in this level good. On the Orchestra level seat at about row C-H especially center are good. Even seats on the Loge level (next up from Grand Tier) are reasonable seats.

At the Broward the first level above Orchestra is Mezzanine but I remember it is further back and orchestra seats that are not in the first 5-8 rows are great seats.

Casting for particular performances is trickier--I do not believe they are posted more than 2 weeks ahead, but again you could call and see if anyone (ie Iliana Lopez in her final Giselle) is "penciled in" for a particular night.

You will have a great trip--March is beautiful in Florida.

I am not at home with the source book for the original quote, but in the meantime here is a synopsis from Ballet Minnesota that I have referenced before. I am certain this "version" may not have each and every fact straight.........

1802: Alexander Dumas Pere was born in Villers-Cotterêts 40 km NE of Paris, France. A French writer, he wrote a revised vision of ETA Hoffman's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King titled "L'Histoire d'un Casse Noisette (The Story of a Hazelnut-cracker). It was from these reviesed versions of the story that Marius Petipa (choreographer of the Nutcracker) got his ideas for the story of the Nutcracker Ballet.

       

1816: E. T. A. Hoffman published his book "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". This work was a morbid story never intended for children which intended to show the depraved and desperate side of mankind.

1818: Marius Petipa, choreographer of the Nutcracker, is born in Marseilles, France. ---- First ballet master to the Tzar of Russia was Marius Petipa. He is credited with ushering in the golden age of Classical Ballet. His ballets included Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, La Bayadere, Don Quoxite and the Nutcracker.

1834: Lev Ivanov is born in Russia.  A Russian dancer, teacher, choreographer, and ballet-master. Ivanov was assistant to chief ballet-master Marius Petipa at the Imperial St. Petersburg Theatres, St Petersburg, Russia. He was instrumental in the development of the classic romantic ballet in Russia. When Petipa fell ill, Ivanov created the choreography for The Nutcracker.

(reference: Electric Library)

1840: Peter I Tchaikovsky, composer of the Nutcracker, is born in Russia.

1890: A. Vsevolozsky, director of Imperial Theaters in Russia, planned to produce a new ballet, "The Nutcracker". This came about because of the success which the ballet "Sleeping Beauty" recieved.  He also planned to use the same choreographer (Marius Petipa) and composer (Peter Tchaikovsky) which collaborated to produce "Sleeping Beauty":

1891: Choreographer Marius Petipa commissioned composer Peter I. Tchaikovsky to compose the musis for the Nutcracker.

Early 1892: Tchaikovsky begins work on the music for the Nutcracker. Upon completion of the score in the summer of 1892 Tchaikovsky wrote that the music he composed was "infinitely poorer than The Sleeping Beauty" (which he had composed and premiered in 1890.

Footnote: An interesting footnote to the score of The Nutcracker is the famous use of the celesta in the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy. The celesta was a new musical instrument which had just been created by Auguste Mustel. Tchaikovsky had discovered the newly-invented instrument just before departing for the U.S., and was immediately captivated by its ``divinely beautiful tone.'' He arranged to have one sent to Russia secretly, because he was ``afraid Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov may get hold of it and use the unusual effect before me.''   (reference: Tchaikovsky: "Nutcracker" Suite)

March 1892: Tchaikovsky premiered the music for The Nutcracker Ballet Suite before was ballet was even produced. This eight-part concert version of the ballet music was a success. At least six times, the audience demanded immediate encores of specific music selections. Because of the Suite's instant success, the score was published even before the ballet premiered.    (reference: The History of the Nutcracker)

           Footnote: The Nutcracker, Op. 71a  was scored for 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, glockenspiel, tympani, harp, celesta, and strings. (reference: Tchaikovsky: "Nutcracker" Suite)

 

September, 1892: Rehearsals begin for the Nutcracker. Choreographer Marius Petipa is taken ill and replaced by Lev Ivanov.   Although Petipa worked with Tchaikovsky to create the story, the story, Ivanov is also generally credited with choreographing the Nutcracker.   (reference: The History of the Nutcracker)

World Premiere

December 18, 1892: Nutcracker World Premiere was at the Maryinsky Theater in St Petersbury, Russia with choreography by Petipa/Ivanov, music by Tchaikovsky and decor by Botcharov..    Sugar Plum Fairy: Antoinette dell'era, Prince: Paul Gerdt

http://www.balletminnesota.org/Nuthtml/NutFirst.html

Here is info from Kirov's website

"The Nutcracker" was originally based on a story written by German writer E.T.A. Hoffman. Tchaikovsky was commissioned to write the music in 1891 by the St. Petersburg Opera, but he was initially unhappy with the setting of a children's Christmas Party. The legendary choreographer Marius Petipa (first ballet-master to His Imperial Majesty the Tsar) presented Tchaikovsky with an exact scenario which he wanted, including the rhythm, tempo, and number of measures for each dance. Petipa later became ill, and the choreographic work was assumed by his assistant, Lev Ivanov.

Tchaikovsky, already in the final years of his life, experimented with a number of different tonalities. The divertissement which became known as the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy was composed for the celesta, using its bell-like tone. Tchaikovsky worked closely with Petipa and Ivanov in the production preparations, gradually losing his initial reservations about the setting.

"The Nutcracker" debuted on December 17, 1892, in the Mariinsky Theatre, which is still the home of the Kirov Ballet today. The original cast included ballet students, just as the Kirov Ballet and Kirov Academy production does today. Although popular inside of Russia, "The Nutcracker" was not performed outside of Russia until 1934, when Nicholas Sergeyev staged it at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in England. By that time in Russia, after the Revolution, the Russian presentation had been restaged by V. Vainonen.

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo debuted a shortened version of "The Nutcracker" in the United States in 1940. The full-length ballet had to wait until the Kirov-trained George Balanchine created a new staging in 1954, which became the Nutcracker most American audiences came to know. The Balanchine production inspired many other versions throughout the world.

The Kirov Ballet/Kirov Academy version is a return to the pre-Balanchine, St. Petersburg roots of this timeless ballet. The music and the staging are done in their entirety, as close as possible to the production which Petipa and Tchaikovsky created over a century ago.

For this reason this production is called the original Nutcracker.

And why is it that there are so many with cellophane-wrapped candy at the ballet!!! I never notice this noise any other location than the theater during a ballet. And to think that NBC actually puts this request in writing. Hurray!!! :bouncing:

Word of the day is chlamys, greek word for cloak.

Comments on Le Talisman I have found:

....the pas de deux from "Le Talisman", a lost ballet of which only this excerpt had lived. It was the creation of Marius Petipa (creator of "The Sleeping Beauty", "The Nutcracker", "Swan Lake", and "La Bayadere" among others) and is a real treat to 19th century ballet fanatic.

...The Talisman pas de Deux is a rarity, a snippet of Petipa that survives where the rest of the ballet is lost. ... this did seem to be music made for dancing, and more interesting than some other 19th century ballet music like Bayadere that survives.

Don't you think that it is a sad commentary that she probably made (way) more money in a one day photo shoot than she did for a dance contract for the year?

And don't I recall some comments about an ad campaign from one of the two NYC companies that was controversial recently due to the amout of "skin" showing? Skin sells. Art on the other hand..........

From the EBU Eurovision Young Dancers 2003 website the official results:

http://www.ebu.ch/news/press_archive/press..._breves_151.php

The results of the finals

"Congratulations to all of the participants in the Eurovision Young Dancers Competition and

to the winners:

Classical

Jerlin Ndudi

Ukraine

Modern

Kristina Oom & Sebastian Michanek

Sweden

Youth Jury's choice

Monika Hejduková & Viktor Konvalinka

Czech Republic"

Amy's Mom posted this on the Mom and Dad's thread: SI reports.

My daughter just finished her first SI at Arizona Ballet School. ..I can't say what next year will look like, because the director has accepted a position with North Carolina School of the Arts, and will be leaving at the end of the summer.

The Arizona Ballet School lists this information about their director

Kee-Juan Han, School Director

Kee Juan Han has directed the school since 1993. His dance career began in his native Singapore where he began training at age ten with Florrie Sinclair and Goh Soo Khim. Upon graduation from the Australian Ballet School, he was invited to dance with the Sydney Dance Company, then with the Goh Ballet in Canada where he was also trained to teach the Vaganova method. He also danced with the Indianapolis Ballet Theater and was a soloist with the Boston Ballet. He has danced most of the principal roles in the classical repertoire, as well as ballets by Balanchine and modern works by Jose Limon, Mark Morris, Ralph Lemon and Bebe Miller.

Mr. Han's international teaching experiences include guest teaching at the Singapore Dance Theater, Edmonton Ballet Academy, Sydney Dance Company, Austin Ballet Academy, Boston Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Company, Vail International Summer of Dance Festival, and the prestigious Jackson International Ballet Summer School.

In addition to being the Director of the Arizona Ballet School, Mr. Han is the Director of the Dance Program for the Arizona School for the Arts.

NLKFLINT

PARTICIPANTS PROCEEDING FROM ROUND II TO ROUND III

(Non-competing partners in parentheses)

Alexei Agoudine, Russia (Violeta Angelova, Bulgaria)

Ogulcan Borova, Turkey (Saori Nagata, Japan)

Jonathan Jordan, USA (Kathleen Breen Combes, USA)

Ludmila Pagliero, Argentina & Cesar Morales, Chile

Takuma Oshiba, Japan (Yuki Sento, Japan)

Susanne Grinder, Denmark & Kristoffer Sakurai, Denmark

Erica de la O, USA & Kenta Shimizu, Japan

Victoria Jaiani, Georgia & Temur Suluashvilli¸Georgia

Caitlin Valentine, USA & Eddy Tovar, Cuba

Laura Kleinke, USA (David Hovhannisyan, Armenia)

Here is their website.

http://www.balletmet.org/

Click on About BalletMet at the top and then when a brief description loads look to the left you can click on History and/or Repertoire for detailed info.

Among other facts

Annual operations of $5.4 million for the 2001-02 season rank BalletMet among the 15 largest dance companies in the nation.

BalletMet ranks among the nation's top 15 dance companies. Energized, eclectic, ensemble company of 27 soloist caliber artists. Diverse repertoire ranges from classical ballet to contemporary masterworks.

The 1,000 student Dance Academy ranks among the nation's five largest dance training centers affiliated with professional companies.

PARTICIPANTS PROCEEDING FROM ROUND I TO ROUND II

(Non-competing partners in parentheses)

Caitlin Valentine, USA & Eddy Tovar, Cuba

Caitlin and Eddy dance with Orlando Ballet. As I have said in previous posts, a company to be watching for.

NCSA students report Mr. Pandi left the faculty (midway through) last academic year and his wife will be leaving as well although she finished the year.

There is a cute one just posted on the Pointe Shoe forum from a teen asking about "split soul pointe shoes." I have known some dancers with split souls, but pointe shoes!?!?

PS I knew I should have quoted it because now someone has gone and changed it!!! ( The forum list is now spelled correctly but the original post remains.)

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My experiences in South Florida also are that I know EXACTLY which seat, and going online allows me to select exactly which seats from a seating chart showing all available seats. This is for the Kravis, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, and Jackie Gleason Theatre. The may not be quite as big as venues in NYC, but I have never paid for any seats $80 or $40 without knowing before I say yes the exact location

I just noticed the added "prologue." If you think this is a joke, or just want to see what it is that is coming out visit

http://www.mattel.com/investors/2003_NYTF/...n_Lake_2003.pdf

It takes a little time to download. If you are not familiar with the Adobe program and want to zoom in to read the text, hit the little magnifying glass at the top of the page and then click on the page and you can zoom in.

ENJOY

PS, There is not just a porcupine and a unicorn--there is also Carlita the skunk. I kid you not.

"Barbie of Swan Lake” Jumbo Plush Assortment brings the magic of Swan Lake to girls in a soft and cuddly way.  With four huggable animal characters from the movie the fun of the enchanted forest goes on and on. The four jumbo plush characters include Carlita ™ the Skunk, Ivan ™ the Porcupine, Lila ™ the unicorn and Odette ™ as the swan.

SAB is the official school of the New York City Ballet

This is taken directly off their home page web site

http://www.sab.org/

The School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet, is thriving in its spacious home in The Samuel B. & David Rose Building at Lincoln Center with an enrollment of over 350 aspiring dancers from nearly every state in the nation and around the world.

This is taken directly off of the NYCB page.

http://www.nycballet.com/about/aboutnycb.html

Did anyone watch the Barbie Nutcracker video? The story was NOT exactly Nutcracker. I suspect the Swan Lake story will be similarly "altered" (?butchered). I would be more enthusiatic if I were not so cynical. This is TO SELL MORE BARBIES. PERIOD. And I suspect lots of little girls will one day grow up and go to see a performance of Swan Lake and exclaim: "this is not the real Swan Lake. They have changes the story all around."

Is any portion of the sales at least going to "the arts?"

My daughter will be going to see NYCB do "Swan Lake" at Saratoga as part of a weekend activity through her summer ballet SI. Just exactly what will she be seeing?

Thanks

Here, here. Aye, aye. I am not a fan of the hyperextended grand jete, either. I look for the beautiful, not the hyperextended, unnatual "tricks."

A contract dispute prompted Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre dancers to hand out leaflets outside the Benedum Center, Downtown, for Thursday's opening of "Cleopatra.The message of the pink leaflets: "Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre wants to charge you $75 to see a student recital!" The leaflets urged patrons to call ballet managing director Steven Libman to complain. "

On Ari's links for 5/10 there is an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about the company dancers at PBT protesting plans for next years productions that include students from the PBT school. Can someone tell me more about this situation?

I have seen larger story Ballet's put on by MCB and Orlando Ballet that included students and did not think twice about it. As a patron I did not think twice about the ticket price just because there were students included in the 32 Wilis that performed. I remember thinking that I could not even pick out which ones were students. And this was before I had dancing daughters reach an age that would put me on the side of the students.

Has PBT never included students before? Do they not have students that are trainees or apprentices? What exactly are the details of the use of students, and of and the company dancers protests? Is there a right side in this dispute and a wrong side? Are students going to be utilized differently here than in other companies?

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-re...t/s_133790.html