Alexandra

Or, balletalertniks!

Merry Christmas to everyone who reads or posts here. Especially posters

Good question, Cristian. I'm afraid he's joined Loys and, for different reasons, Benno, in the Old Ballet Characters home.

Now what happens to the former "Ballet Alert!" site? It contains a lot of useful information.

I have the same inquire. I've accessed that site a lot in the past, and have gathered great info from it.

I don't understand why this would be questioned, actually, which is why I didn't respond. I'm busy enough

The Ballet Alert! Site has remained up. I have maintained it since the newsletter with which it was associated ended, and through all these years that this board has been called Ballet Talk. We have now changed the board's name back to....Ballet Alert! What about these facts would raise the question that we'd take down the Ballet Alert!! site? (that's a rhetorical question!)

Quiggin, you're quite right, and I'm hoping that websites are different from publications. Pages seem to be redirecting nicely. I'm sure there will be some misdirections, broken links and dead ends but that will happen when you don't have full-time paid the people, I'm afraid.

I think Helene explained the reason in her first post. We wanted to avoid confusion with BT4D.

Thank you for the reviews -- please keep them coming. And please keep this thread for ABT's production, not ads for other favorites

Thank you, Helene. I like the font! And thank you very much for handling all those pesky little technical and logistical details so smoothly.

I wanted to add that when I first started Ballet Alert!, I wrote to Arlene Croce to ask her permission, which she graciously, and readily, granted.

I guessed it, actually. I don't want to be a spoiler, so I'll only say "that period" wasva high point for ballet. There were many articles written that ballet had "triumphed," that modern dance had faded from the scene, had been replaced by ballet, etc. (Why oh why does it have to be either/or???)

Eva Kistrup has posted an interview with Sebastian Kloborg on her danceviewtimes blog, as part of a series she's doing about the upcoming RDB tour. So keep watching it! There's more to come.

US Tour 2011 Interview with Sebastian Kloborg

When I met with soloist Sebastian Kloborg, he was sporting a long hairstyle and a full beard. The reason: He is currently dancing the Russian Divertissement in Peter Martins1 “Swan Lake” and wanted to add a bit of character to the pas deux so he transformed his good looks to become a Russian ruffian. I discover pretty quickly that for Sebastian Kloborg ballet is truly a dramatic art.

Eva Kistrup has an article about Caroline Cavallo on her danceviewtimes blog:

Caroline Cavallo Retires

The fact that Caroline Cavallo ended up saving the premiere of the Royal Danish Ballet's production of "Sleeping Beauty" as her last performance with the company is a fitting metaphor for her 21 years at the RDB. She has been the most reliable and constant force of the company, the one scores of ballet masters could depend on and probably the hardest and most dedicated worker in the company.

Eva Kistrup reviews the RDB's new "Sleeping Beauty" on her danceviewtimes blog,comparing the current production with Helgi Tomasson's version that was previously in repertory:

The Ballerina Issue

There is however one very important area where Tomasson's version comes out at the winner. Silja Schandorff as the ballerina is the high level performance that makes any production of "Sleeping Beauty" worthwhile. With her style, musicality, beauty and effortless control of the Petipa style she created true magic..

I think it's there because this software is used by so many different kinds of sites that there are a variety of tools that may be relevant to some and not others. I think this one is there so we can block someone who is incessantly annoying, or whose comments are disturbing. I hope no one here would fall into those categories!

It can happen by accident/mistake. I once accidentally blocked Helene!

I just learned of this film a few weeks ago. They came to film at KAB (John Clifford is staging "Serenade" here, a first for the school, and they were filming the rehearsals). I had the chance to talk to Ms. Hochman about the film and it certainly sounds like a worthy project, and one very much of interest to Ballet Talkers.

Eva Kistrup has posted a review of the new "Beauty" on her danceviewtimes blog:

A Danish Sleeping Beauty, Sort Of

November 26, 2010

Christopher Wheeldon's production of "The Sleeping Beauty" for Nikolaj Hübbe's Royal Danish Ballet aims to build on the core values of the company, including the strong dramatic skills of its performers. Therefore more focus has been put on the character parts, and he has built bigger roles for Carabousse and the Lilac fairy, the latter a mime part in this production.

The result is a very skillful production with a fast pace, but unfortunately Wheeldon's choice of designer is counter to his project of making this Beauty a truly Danish Beauty.

Eva Kistrup has an interview with Thomas Lund on her dvt blog!

2010 U.S. Tour interview with Thomas Lund

The many faces of Thomas Lund

At 36 one would expect a ballet dancer would be on the brink on wrapping up his career, focus on fewer and more mature roles and start considering whether to become a teacher, a character dancer or an instructor.

Well not if the dancer in question is Thomas Lund. Not only has he been a teacher, character dancer and instructor since his juvenile years. He had also with great success entered into the field of choreography with his smash hit family ballet: ”Teddy goes Ballet”. And now he is preparing to have his debut as Siegfried in “Swan Lake” and Desireé in “The Sleeping Beauty”.

Eva Kistrup has posted a review of Bojesen and Lund's "Swan Lake" in her danceviewtimes blog:

The Value of a Partnership

The success of a ballet performance is contingent on several factors: choreography, music, set and costume design, as well as the casting and talent of the individual dancers. Often good choreography can balance bad choices on the other factors. Sometimes good dancing can cover bad choreography. The director has a secret weapon: the value of a good partnership. In the final performance of Peter Martins' "Swan Lake" this weapon was put to good use by rematching Gudrun Bojesen and Thomas Lund.

Eva Kistrup has launched a series of articles as background for the forthcoming American tour by the Royal Danish Ballet. She just posted the first article, on the Royal Danish Ballet School and an interview with its director, Niels Ballet, in her danceviewtimes blog:

Royal Danish Ballet School, a success story

As the Royal Danish Ballet will tour USA May - June 2011, I am writing a number of articles leading up to the tour presenting ballets, dancers and the company history. We will kick off the series with an interview with Niels Balle, the leader of the ballet school and possible the most important person in securing the company's future.

Royal Danish Ballet School, a success story

After decades of dwindling numbers of applications and limited output, the Royal Danish Ballet School is up to the task and is now producing scores of talented young dancers. This year 7 apprentices have been promoted to first-year-dancers and a record of 9 students have been accepted to the apprentice programme.

Eva Kistrup reviews Thomas Lund's performance as Siegfried in the Royal Danish Ballet's production of "Swan Lake" in her danceviewtimes blog.

A Late Siegfried

The Peter Martins production has been a part of the standard repertoire of the Royal Danish Ballet for most of Thomas Lund's career. Yet up till now he has only done the fool and some of the divertissements. But this year he finds himself cast as Siegfried and for some reson his performances with guest star Jurgita Dronina is placed at the end of the run. This has obviously given Lund the opportunity to prepare well for this opportunity and his dancing also demonstrated how much thought and care had been invested in each steps and phrases. It also raises the question, Can a dancer be over prepared?

Non-arts-related documentaries are a slippery slope -- they lead to discussions of politics, which is beyond the scope of this board.

Eva Kistrup has just posted a review of an RDB "outreach" program -- "Serenade," "Earth" and the Don Q pas de deux, as well as a school performance, on her dvt blog:

Reaching Out

Thank you, Catherine. Will you be able to go and see these? The Balanchine sounds fascinating. I'd love to see them dance "Agon" and "Midsummer."

Thank you for such a thoughtful question. I think you're definitely on the right track. You might enjoy the DVD "Le Roi Danse" about Louis XIV and the musician Lully. It shows the politics, but also the aesthetics of that period. Ballet still has a whiff of the ancien regime -- the hierarchies, the precision, thevpatterns (which once had a multitude of philosophical meanings). Most important was the idea of the ideal, the horizontal, as Volynsky wrote, that in ballet we reach to the Heavens.

Sadly I doubt thatvmany dancers or company leaders or people who write about dance know or care about this. I've heard teachers say that ballet is a philosophy, but I think they expect students to understand this without explanation.

There are several Renaissance and historical dance scholars now, as well as performing groups.

Sorry forvsuch a quick answer to such a good question. I hope others will join in.

Thank you very much for posting this, Simon. I read that one of the victims had been a dancer and wondered who she was, so I was very interested to read her story.

It was an absolutely horrible and brutal killing and my heart goes out to her family and friends, and all those whose lives she touched.

As former PNB and current Dutch National Ballet Principal Dancer Casey Herd once said in a post-performance Q&A, "That's why they call it acting."

Per Ballet Talk policy, the personal lives of dancers, choreographers, artistic directors, etc. are off-limits on the board unless they are discussed in an official source, the definition of which is described in our Rules and Policies.

Repeating what Helene just said above. I've made a post on this thread invisible. Please do NOT speculate or comment upon on who is, or is not, involved with whom. Thank you!

It IS a lovely brochure!!

In addition to doing a major site upgrade, AND the annual fundraiser, the amazing Helene has also been working on our Calendar -- see the Calendar, top left, right under Ballet Talk.

She's put up every performance she can find -- there are a few companies who haven't posted their seasons yet. We don't list Nutcrackers, because if we did the Calendar would explode in December. There may be a few typos (no need to point them out )

You'll notice, at the bottom left of the board, that Calendar listings for each day will be visible there, so it's a wonderful way for all of us to keep up with what's going on in ballet. And of course, if you're planning a trip to San Francisco in March, or want to see what Miami City Balletl is doing in October, you can find out and either get on a plane or live vicatiously.

It's a humongous effort, and I'm very;, very;, VERY grateful to Helene for doing this.

Brace. Here are the companies listed:

Alberta Ballet

Atlanta Ballet

Ballet Arizona

Ballet Met

Ballet West

Birmingham Royal Ballet

Boston Ballet

Carolina Ballet

Cincinnati Ballet

ENB

Estonian National Ballet (through 2010)

Houston Ballet

Kansas City Ballet

Louisville Ballet

Mariinsky Ballet

Miami City Ballet

NCDT

Oregon Ballet Theatre

PNB

Paris Opera Ballet

PA Ballet

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre

RDB

Royal Ballet

RWB

SFB

Sarasota Ballet

Semperoper

St. Louis Ballet

Texas Ballet Theatre

Washington Ballet

RDB Tour:

Berkeley

OCPAC

Kennedy Center:

RDB -- TBA which days which ballet

Suzanne Farrell Ballet

ABT

Proteges III

NYCB

Ballet Nacional de Cuba

Cal Performance:

RDB

Reflections

Eifman Ballet

Tour de Force II

Ballet Nacional de Cuba

Sadler's Wells:

ABT

Hamburg Ballet -- Paris Opera performances only