Calliope

There's an interview with Benjamin Millipied and a nod to the interview he did with Ballet Alert! (and his negative comment about Tharp) and how the fallout from the interview was basically a kick in the arse for him.

Also they list they're best/worst for both dance and ballet.

Rodney Smith is a photographer who did one of NYCB's ad earlier ad campaigns using commercial photographers.

He's posted the pictures used in the campaign and the ones that weren't

Some nice pix of Deanna McBrearty, Eva Natanya, Elena Diner, Melissa Walter and Jessy Hendrickson

www.rodneysmith.com

use the search function, type in "ballet" and you'll get the page

I haven't seen the review yet, but I didn't find the sound to be bothersome at all.

The orchestra was more than adequate, and they have 3 rotating casts to protect the singers voices.

I think the show is meant, as it states in the playbill, to be an intro to opera.

It needs to be viewed and reviewed as a Broadway show.

Finally seeing Vishneva dance

La Fille Mal Gardee at ABT, actually, everything at ABT

Jaffe's final performance

Rachel Rutherford finally getting promoted

The Kirov back in NY

ABT's Studio Company

money

and 2 weeks of Suzanne Farrell Ballet in NY.

and since I've been extra good this year :

no more injuries for Miranda Weese

I was checking for tix on NYCB's website, since you can see what availability is.

I chuckled, I noticed the all Balanchine nights/Balanchine Robbins/ All Robbins nights are all practically sold out, with very limited availability.

Here's the review of Lorenzo's Sugarplum debut

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/lo...cal/4743283.htm

Thanks Alexandra. I knew they hadn't tried to revive all, I thought it might be a good starting # to use.

In doing search, I came up with anywhere from 70 to 200 revivable works (the latter from a Kirov Lincoln Center Festival press release)

I suppose the Balanchine Trust would know the answer.

I suppose you could read into the first sentence of that link

"NYCB has an unmatched record of producing new works"

That sums up what I dislike intensely about the company right now. that's what I feel like my money goes to.

I have a cousin who I take to the ballet about 10 times a year, she thinks Balanchine's just the guy that did the Nutcracker.

She was too young to take to the Balanchine Celebration, but I wish I could have, so she'd have some background.

I don't know how many works are, does anyone know how many pieces were performed during the Balanchine Celebration?

It's under the "Vital Committment to New Work" section

http://www.nycballet.com/patron/camp_5.html

There's a statistic on NYCB's website that says "of the 450 of Balanchines catalogued works a mere 73 remain in the repertory"

We barely see 20 of the Balanchine works a season, right now the rep is even split 1/3 Balanchine, 1/3 Robbins and 1/3 Martins/Diamond.

There have definitely been some nice works in the Diamond Project, but most of them were by somewhat established choreographers. I still debate Wheeldon as a success, I think he's more media trumped. Even his works fade faster than the money spent on creating them.

I don't debate spending the money on fostering new talent/creativity, but don't subject an audience to spend as much as they ask us to on things that last a season or two at best. I'd rather see that at workshop or in the choreographic institute programs.

I like the guest stars at ABT. It does add a bit of excitement, plus for those of us in NY lucky enough to catch a City Center season, I feel like I get to see more of the "home team".

I like the breath of fresh air, to compliment the current roster. For a while I felt like Kent had to dance every role.

But I think ABT's rep is a bit more flexible for allowing dancers with different technique and training to fit in more easily, as opposed to say NYCB, where I've personally, come to resent the outside guest. Either b/c they make it look as though there's not enough talent in NYCB's rank or why aren't these dancers (NYCB)getting enough opportunity to develop that talent to be in these roles.

I wish NYCB would allow their dancers to guest more with other companies.

Perhaps b/c they've made the bottom line in donations, it doesn't matter what gets put out there and how it looks and what the dancers or the audiences think so long as I get to handpick the dancers for my pieces and the choreographers.

And to appease everyone else, we'll create an institute of choreography, to which perhaps the dancers will get to work with some creative talent.

That's what I say as the paying ballet goer.

The other part of me says, maybe there's not that many talented choreographers for them to choose from and we have to find out the hard way through watching the Diamond Project.

I was watching 60 Minutes on Catherine B. Reynolds "scandal" in Washington. She gave a huge donation to the Smithsonian, signed a contract on how the money should be used and the museum developed, there was a lot of backlash from the social community that she was buying her way into society, the Smithsonian had problems with the contract, so she said "forget it" and donated $100 mil to the Kennedy Center.

All these big $$ donations make me wonder who is actually running the company.

NYCB usually sends a couple of dancers for First Night at Grand Central.

But, like you said, it's not really caught on. Too many crazy people standing in Times Square!

I'm not sure if the student rush tickets are the same day or not BW, I am guessing they are.

I wish they'd give away 5 of the SAB/NYCB standing room seats a night to regular students. At least they'd be able to be in the First Ring and see, usually you can find a seat too.

When you say inter arts, how do you mean?

I thought that was the role of "festivals"

Like the Lincoln Festival, you get one big mailing with everything listed, sometimes there's a theme too.

It would be nice, if say for Lincoln Center, you buy a subscription of 3 tickets. One for the Opera, the ballet and the Philharmonic.

An introduction to the arts, if you will.

I'd sign up for it and it would make a nice holiday gift!

I think NYCB offers $5 student tickets. I'm guessing seats are 4th ring, you just show your ID, I can't remember though if it covers college students as well.

Thanks Juliet.

I just saw an interview with Baz, he said not a note was changed.

There's a brief synopsis accompanied with each (no link though)

Article is by Robert Gottlieb

1. Baryshnikov

2. Margot Fonteyn

3. Jewels

4. Martha Graham

5. Napoli (Bournonville)

6. Sunset (Paul Taylor)

7. La Fille Mal Gardee

8. Galina Ulanova

9. Symphony in C (Balanchine)

10. L'Allegro, Il Penerose, Ed Il Moderato (Mark Morris)

That stuff was so long ago (relatively speaking)

nothing recently?!

I was just surprised, since it was 2 hrs 15 minutes. Minus the 20 minute intermission, and 2 5-minute pauses.

making it under 2 hours.

I always though opera was long.

A perhap example of why I don't go to anything based solely on a critic.

A naiive opera question. Were parts cut out of La Boheme? As compared to the opera.

After seeing Baz Luhrmann's "La Boheme" last night, it was quite obvious that it was commissioned to bring a younger audience (and based on the audience, it's successful)

Has there ever been a ballet that's been specifically commissioned to bring in a younger audience?

And for those that create works, do you ever factor in an audience's age?

a la "Movin Out" which, granted, is Broadway.

But Tharp got so whipped by the Chicago credits that she made adjustments and now it's a success.

Thanks for that Manhattanik, I got goose bumps all over again.

And me of little knowledge about opera thought all this time Julia Roberts had seen Madame Butterfly with Gere

I loved it. I am not an opera fan, so I was fully expected to nod off. But, I found myself looking forward to scene changes (pauses) and intermissions when all this "backstage stuff" was going on.

I just kept thinking, and many of many friends commented on what a great introduction to opera this is for a younger generation. The story/music are timeless and everyone was great.

I'm not sure how different the casts were, but I though the woman outsang the men (Ekaterina Solovyveva as Mimi and Jessica Comaus as Musetta)

I LOVED the sets and backdrops.

Catherine Martin, imagine what she could do with a Nutcracker production!

I give them Tony's already.

The subtitles were creative, I liked the use of different fonts. Some of the translations were a little "out there" even for me. And I didn't go home humming any tunes, but I realized, Oh La Boheme is the music in Pretty Woman (when he's in the limo) and Moonstruck!!!

I would definitely recommend it. I sat way back in row S of the orchestra, but the seats were fine anywhere in the theater.

The second act, just blew me away.

And it was interesting to read in the Playbill the director's comments of how and why they created the production 13 years ago when the Australian Opera wanted a new production to get a younger crowd in the audience and introduce them to opera. And the research they did. It was interesting.

Regarding the sound, we were trying to figure out if their mikes were toned down, b/c there seemed to be a glitch at one point and someone's voice kept going up and down (and I looked at friends who all had there brows furrowed) but I think , as Juliet said, it's a small house, so it wasn't overpowering.

I LOVED IT!

Having said all that, no matter how it's presented, I'm still not an opera fan, but I would see it again and take someone with me.

A very original presentation, I enjoyed it tremendously!