koshka

7 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

Was anyone there last night? Would love to know how Aran Bell's debut went.

Yes. He was fantastic. One of my ballet friends was surprised to hear that it was his debut. The famous entrechat six series was very strong to the end.

Thanks! Do you know if the brochure is on line and/or what date the tickets go on sale? Last year it was early September (I bought tickets and then the performance was cancelled because of the gilets jaunes protests.)

Hi all.

I don't see any mention either above or at the official Opera site about the school demonstrations, which are typically in December.

A post at Balletcoforum (?) indicates dates of Dec 15 and 21-22. Has anyone else seen this info and/or have any suggestions?

I don't know the ins and outs, but she's been a standout on the Bolshoi's visits to DC--she is an unusually light and musical dancer--and so I hope we'll still see her performing one way or another.

1 hour ago, Fraildove said:

The fact that the board had the complaint and felt that all three only deserved a small suspension makes me sick on a whole other level. They clearly have shown that every bit has been lip service and that the safety and respect of the women this involved is worth nothing. I just don’t understand how a board can continue and continue to cover up, hide, downplay, and deny and then expect everything to be ok and wonder why their organization is being targeted. 😢😱🤔

I would like to think that the suspension was pending further review of the case, and that if the allegations are borne out, that there would be much more than a suspension. 

23 hours ago, YouOverThere said:

And surprising. I'm a little disappointed that I probably won't get to see EunWon Lee, as Thursday probably isn't available to me and recent changes to on-street parking near the Kennedy Center have made it more difficult (or expensive) to attend Saturday matinee performances.

Unpaid Saturday parking is still available in the area, though you might have to walk an extra block or two or do a bit more scouting. ;-)

What I find more frustrating is the high rate of broken/nonfunctional parking meters or pay stations, which makes the parking effectively unavailable even if one is willing to pay the $2.30/hr. 

4 hours ago, Mashinka said:

An adult would either laugh it off or respond with a ripe riposte

Unfortunately what you are expressing is the "Can't you take a joke?" attitude.  Women (and men) in professional settings should not have to put up with these "jokes" when they're not really jokes (as in, the object doesn't find them funny, or they imply some damage to the object's career prospects if they don't act as if it's funny.  It's the same as with other "jokes" (ethnic, etc)--yes, one could fire back, but it's tiresome and juvenile and degrading.

...and now I am thankful that I work in a quite boring agency where people don't feel so..."free".

Delightful news-thanks for pointing this listing out!

Alertniks:

I have a spare ticket to the Thurs night performance.

I have a pair of tickets G108/G109 (right behind the conductor). I will be using one. Typically I'd exchange one for a different performance, but since the run is sold out, I am out of luck.  Please PM me if you would like it and we'll figure it out.

k

Thanks! Just snagged a ticket!

So here are a few answers to my own question.

Yes, it is possible to attend. Tickets are sold through a Bulgarian ticket service (not unlike Ticketmaster) and it seems that it would be difficult to get tickets using a US credit card. (I got lucky and had some friends help me out with getting the tickets in Bulgaria.)

It might be that there's really no reason to go through the hassle of getting tickets in advance--I'll update after I see the scene from Varna.

Suggestions and any other information would still be most welcome!

<Sigh> As of today, no indication of a NY tour stop--only the California stop is mentioned on their site:

http://www.mikhailovsky.ru/en/afisha/tours/the_mikhailovsky_theatre_on_tour_in_usa_2016/

Hi all.

I am considering going to Varna for the competition this year. Has anyone gone, and is it possible to attend the performances?

Kondaurova did clearer entrechats quatre. Kolegova looked like she was attempting them, but got only a wiggle. Skorik did changements.

;-)

It was a lovely run.

Agree that Skorik looked better in the Friday show.

Wish I had had time to meet everyone. On to NYCB next week!

Sightlines: I am a fan of the front row even though sometimes feet disappear. Theo is right that for feet you should go for the 4th row or further back. Note that with orchestra the front row is typically row G, so fourth row would be J or higher.

My second-favorite place is around rows R-T--just behind the break between the front and rear orchestra. I find the tiers to be too far away, but YMMV.

I was there for the last 3 nights--great program. International Night I was VERY eclectic.

Carla Korbes was an absolutely magnificent stand-in in Elegie.

Other high points for me were Cornejo in everything, Bill Irwin in everything, and Who Cares (closing piece of the Balanchine evening). I recommend it highly to ballet lovers, but pack a down throw--it got mighty chilly after the sun went down!

<Sigh> What I really want to see Eifman do here is Don Q. The staging is completely different (set in an insane asylum) and brilliant.

I went to the Wednesday "preview night" performance.

Overall I liked it very much--love the new/old staging, especially the swan corps, which I thought was magnificently rehearsed. Loved having live music, and thought the orchestra did a very nice job.

As for individual dancers: Miguel Anaya was a fantastic prince--beautiful line, catlike jumps, great emotion. Maki Onuki was technically lovely, as always--with an especially remarkable balance in Act II (I think). But her acting left me a bit cold. Sona Kharatian was a wonderfully

regal and insistent mother, and Giselle Macdonald was delightful in the small solo toward the end of Act with the master of ceremonies (Luis Torres).

The musical interlude was very nice, although it seemed a bit out of place in an already long-ish (ok, by Washington standards!) evening.

Many thanks for the rundown, Natalia--looks like I'll be seeing the same cast tomorrow night (yes, it is a ballet overdose week!).

Principal casting is now posted at the KCen website:

http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/RPWLB

Anaya and Kimura are new names to me.

PRINCIPAL CASTING (as of 4/7; Please note - Casting is subject to change)
Wed., Apr. 8 & Sat. Eve, Apr. 11 (Maki Onuki/Miguel Anaya)
Thu., Apr. 9 & Sun. Eve, Apr. 12 (Misty Copeland/Brooklyn Mack)
Fri., Apr. 10 & Sun. Mat, Apr. 12 (Ayano Kimura/Jonathan Jordan)
Sat. Mat, Apr. 11 (Aurora Dickie/Tamas Krizsa)

Also, it now appears that there are a few dozen balcony seats for sale at the KCen website for Thursday night--all at $225.

Haha--very good detective work! My guess is that we'll see Maki-Jon tomorrow.

Well, yes, Maki Onuki is certainly a likely candidate--she shows up in some of the videos. But still--I am surprised and somewhat disappointed on behalf of the other principal casts that the focus is so concentrated on the Misty'n'Mack casting.

Like Natalia, I am very much looking forward to this big production to see what Washington Ballet does with it.

My tickets are for Wednesday night and I have NYCB tix for Thursday, so probably no Misty'n'Mack for me.

Has anyone seen any information about who else will be dancing the principal roles at the other performances?

It seems odd (and rather a slight to the others) that the information seems to be unavailable.

Got my ticket for the Sat matinee yesterday--hope the casting doesn't change!

Having done a moderate amount of exploring in St Petersburg, I do not recall any "sights" adjacent to the old Mariinsky. But the whole area is "historic", and the destroyed buildings might have played one or another historic role.

I agree that I'd hope that any "renovation" of the old Mariinsky Theater remains faithful to the original elegant and charming design.