koshka

Thanks, Bill. I'm no particular expert in labor contracts, much less those for performing artists. Does anyone know if the working hour conditions are in line with industry standards? The stipulation that appropriate flooring be provided seems eminently reasonable. I wonder if things came to a head at this juncture because there were some private performances on the schedule--might these have been in venues with inappropriate flooring? The stipulation that nonrenewal of contracts would be subject to usual grievance procedures seems nonstandard for performing arts--comments? Earlier reports indicated that rehearsals were due to restart on January 3, so I would imagine that there will be some news one way or the other soon.

Here is today's article from the Washington Post about the cancellation of performances for a second day: WashPost--Strike/Lockout continues As was emphasized by Treefrog at BT4D, management is referring to these events as a "strike' but the dancers are calling it a 'lockout'. Most unfortunate all around.

Amazon is now showing the Ballets Russes DVD as "coming soon" and one can sign up for email notification.

Actually my ticket was for the matinee, and it has found a home.

I posted as its own thread but I'll add here: I have a single front row center (3 seats to the right of the conductor) ticket for the Sun Dec 11 matinee that I can't use. PM me quickly if you're interested--I'm leaving town on Friday... The price of the ticket was $82 but at this point I'm entertaining any reasonable offer...

OK, Paris Opera experts- I will be at the school's demonstrations in December. There are 2 sessions, morning and afternoon. So here's the question: how much time is there between the two sessions, and, given that, what is the appropriate lunch plan? (power bars in bag? quick lunch nearby somewhere? ) koshka, who does not enjoy watching dance on an empty stomach

So true. Easily the nicest photo moment for me in the past year was when one girl who really struggles with flexibility saw a picture of herself in saut de chat and said "Did you photoshop that?" There are plenty of "eeeeuws" too, but then my subjects are teenagers, so...

No matter how fast the sequential shooting is, a lot happens between shots, so the single shot method seems to work best for me too. I don't even really know how to use the "burst" function on my cameras. I don't know about amitava, but I typically use manual settings and prefocus for big jumps. Beyond that, it's just trial and error, esp. with digital cameras, which have extremely variable shutter lag. Digital cameras are great for the trial and error part. Alas, my problem is that I lack "the eye" in a big way.

I go to the Kennedy Center quite regularly, and all of the above are right. I will note that the opera crowd seems to be more formal--I was there on a Sat night to exchange tickets and I saw all sorts of beautiful gowns and fancy attire. On weeknights many people will come directly from work, and on weekend (especially for Nut) there will be kids in party dresses. But really you'll see pretty much everything, so go for functional (depends on weather and your transportation arrangements) and festive. PS Hey, I sit in the pretty-expensive seats and often do slacks and sweater, esp. on weeknights or for matinees.

I am thinking of it because I have a college buddy in Jackson, so I'd have a free place to stay AND I'd get to see my buddy and her family.

I am going Sat night. I tried to switch the time and was told that all of the performances were sold out or nearly so.

Washington Ballet's first performances aren't for another month or so (Carmen, Nine Sinatra Songs, Serenade) but they are having a subscriber open house this Saturday, which should feature rehearsals and other sneak previews.

...and David does not have to stand in 5th position or jump. Nudity might work for a dramatic role, but for much of classical ballet, it is simply impractical.

I was in Minsk for a week in 1994 (!) and saw one performance. I think it was Giselle, but I am not 100% sure.

This is exactly why my reaction is usually "it sounds _awfully_ uncomfortable". Washington Ballet did Rite of Spring here, and the men danced at one point in nude dance belts only. The thing is, there was so much buildup that it just seemed ridiculous. But at least I didn't watch thinking "ouch ouch ouch".

I went ahead and got the tickets in the 2nd price category for the afternoon--I didn't want to take a chance on getting no ticket since I am coming from the US and can't just go another day. Are there any other Alertniks going on the 11th?

Tickets for the December demonstrations went on sale today (ie, about 5 or 6 hours ago) and the best seats for the afternoon session are already sold out. Where's that Mon Dieu smiley when I need it??!??!

Some operas (most? many?) have ballet music in them. In current productions, is there usually dancing to go with this music, or is the music dropped (or is singing added, or??)? In particular, this season Wash. Opera is doing Verdi's Sicilian Vespers, which has a nice segment of ballet music. Does anyone know if dancing is to be expected? If so, where do they get the dancers?

vrsfanatic- I'm sure we will all be eager to hear the latest from there, and I hope your student has a wonderful year.

This is what seems to be the case as far as I know, but vrsfanatic and others know _a lot_ more about full-time US programs. There are several factors at work. First, the Vaganova style is distinctive in the ways other posters have described and beyond. But second, and critically, I think there are few or no schools in the US that "full-time" ballet schools in quite the way the Vaganova Academy is. To begin with, they select only children whose bodies are ideally suited (or at least potentially ideally suited as far as can be seen prior to puberty) for ballet--strong, appropriately proportioned, flexible, and with good hip rotation and feet. Once the kids with the bodies suited to very intensive training are selected, they enter a school where all revolves around their dancing: schedules are adjusted, suitable supplementary classes (eg, in music) are included, the cafeteria menu is suited to their needs, etc. Some of the kids board and others are day students. All of this begins at age 10 or 11. As far as I know, there are no residential schools in the US for students before high school. For the high school years, there are boarding/specialized schools. However, even these (I think!) do not have quite the opportunity to choose a few perfect bodies from a multitude. The last point reminds me of something I read once about the Paris Opera Ballet School. Some teachers were asking the director of the school how certain problems were dealt with, and whenever the problem had as its root a "problematic" body feature, the answer was basically "oh, we just don't have/take students like that." The students are without a doubt beautifully trained and the school produces wonderful dancers. HOwever, given that the ballet world has many sucessful dancers and even stars with far-from-ideal bodies, I have no doubt that there are those who would argue that excluding all but the most perfect bodies from the get-go is not the only (or even the best) way. But that is a question for another thread.

I look forward to seeing him. On a side note: isn't it lovely how there are so few countries now (relative to 15-20 years ago) from which one "defects" rather than simply "emigrates"? I saw the post title and thought "defected?!?! From where? How quaint!" Here's hoping the verb "defect" becomes obsolete sooner rather than later.

Tatarstan was (is?) an autonomous republic in the old Soviet Union. After the breakup of the USSR, when all of the republics rushed their own currencies into circulation, Tatarstan (reportedly!) had the distinction of issuing currency with no denomination (value) on it.

My eyes! My eyes! Hans clearly has the strong stomach that would be needed to work with such a, uh, challenging group of students. <slight randomness> My colleagues who cycle to work as a group are considerably younger and reasonably fit, and still, the bike shorts are...well, sometimes it's better when the contact lenses are out. Actually, it can be very interesting (and not in a bad way) to have a group of adults accomplished in many different fields all trying to get something that all the 15 year olds are breezing through. </slight randomness>

Hans hereby volunteers to teach the class. It's August, isn't it?

OK, I really don't want to be subjected to dance (or singing or ...) by _most_ public officials. My eyes! My ears! Nooooooooo! My office does have a reference database with the acronym DANCE. Alas, the information in the database has (as far as I can tell) absolutely nothing to do with the acronym.