drb
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Nina married Gregory Vashadze in 1988. He was a member of the Soviet team at the SALT negotiations in Geneva. Although an expert in International Law, he does have a scholarly interest in ballet. A joint interview with the couple in 2000 can be found on her website:
http://ananiashvili.com/interviews/nina-gr..._LAT_062100.htm
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NYCB's website is worth a visit for its illustrated feature on this Spring's Diamond project.
Clive Barnes graces us with his memory, in particular this 1971 encounter with Mr. Balanchine:
"One night a few days after the premiere [of PAMTGG] I was crossing Lincoln Center Plaza and, horror of horrors, bumped, almost literally, into Mr. B. Some kind of confrontation seemed inevitable. It was an open secret that Balanchine at this juncture was going through a serious personal crisis. I waited meekly for some kind of harangue, or perhaps just a studied cut. Instead Mr. B. smiled beatifically, tightened his grasp round the gorgeous redhead called Linda he was escorting, nodded slightly towards her and said, "It's always nice to have something new—even in ballet, whatever." I wanted to kiss both him and Linda, but just grinned, replied, "Sure," and passed on a wiser man."
Click on Diamond Project Icon at
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Years ago when applause got out of hand Mr. B. would have an insert placed in the program to the effect that one should not applaud while the music was playing. I was always grateful to find such an insert in the program because it meant, that night at least, one could fully enjoy his choreography. Obviously for certain show pieces, that rule would not apply. But for a great choregrapher working with great music it always should.
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When replying to a post I noticed there is now an icon for inserting images. What are the rules regarding inserting a photo?
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Kristin Sloan has posted loads of pictures of the Washington trip on The Winger, including two of new star Cheech (March 2), who is now dancing Union Jack in place of the great Georgio. You may enter Georgio into her Search to see a photo of him.
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There will be a special program, Birgit Nilsson: A Force of Nature in her honor at Alice Tully Hall (Lincoln Center) on Tuesday, May 23 at 7:30. Tributes from many friends and colleagues, plus Nilsson on film.
"Host: Dame Gwyneth Jones
With appearances and tributes by:
Martina Arroyo
Lili Chookasian
Irene Dalis
Mignon Dunn
Lauren Flanigan
Anna Moffo
Regine Resnik
Thomas Stewart
Edgar Vincent
and other surprise guests"
Tickets are $75 ($50 for Opera Guild members). Extra for a post-program Champagne reception. Information:
212-769-7009
or at
http://www.metoperafamily.org/guild/calend...il.aspx?id=1148
The Met has also given a 30-photo set of Ms. Nillson (click to enlarge each):
http://66.187.153.86/Imgs/Nilsson.htm
This one, in her coal-miner's hat (Die Walkure), is a must-see:
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Just came upon these photos of the Four Kings, two of the Wheeldon ballet and one WOW! of Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg in The Lesson.
From Playbill:
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Bart Cook is interviewed in Georgia Today about three new ballets he has set on Nina's ballet company in Tbilisi.
This is Bart’s forth visit to Tbilisi, this time without Maria, who’s busy working on Mozartiana in Leipzig, Germany. So how has it been? “It has a good and a bad aspect because I work only with the principal dancers. That’s good because I can spend a lot of time with them, but at the same time would like to be working with the other dancers as well, but the ballets do not demand it. There is no corps de ballet this time. Anyway, I have learnt to love them dearly. I know how they think and they know how I think.”The entire interview is available:
http://www.georgiatoday.ge/article_details.php?id=1001
An article on the program is posted under Georgian State Ballet (Other European Companies).
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Nina continues to direct her company in Tblisi. This weekend's program will feature
1. Trey McIntyre's Second Before the Ground
2. Three Balanchine PdD's:
Tarantella
Duo Concertante
Tchaikovsky PdD
3. Alexei Ratmansky's Dreams about Japan
A pre-performance article from Georgia Today:
http://www.georgiatoday.ge/article_details.php?id=1002
An interview with Bart Cook on setting the ballets on the company appears in Ballet News Discussion, the Calegari & Cook thread.
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This interview tells what has happened since then, and why she left NYCB, etc.
Thanks for the link. Good to know there is (artistically very rewarding) life after NYCB!
Leaving after contrasting the humanity of working on Angelin Preljocaj's La Stravaganza with the emphasis on technical rigor in rehearsing Sleeping Beauty, it is interesting to read that the ballets she loved most included
Serenade, The Four Temperaments, Concerto Barocco, Square Dance, Jewels, to name a few. I love the kind of abstracted emotion these conjure up. And I love the characters and humanity in the Robbins' repertory - 2 & 3 Part Inventions and Dances at a Gathering are special favorites. Do you notice a theme?! An emphasis on humanity, individuality, a strong sense of person... -
Playbill reports Ethan Stiefel will be unable to partner Gillian Murphy in Millepied's Closer because of knee problems (see also Kings of Dance). Benjamin Millepied will replace him:
http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/4024.html
Information on the program may be found at:
http://www.joyce.org/millepied06.html
Does anyone know names of the dancers in this company?
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Great news! I've just received an e-mail from Lincoln Center announcing that the San Francisco Ballet will perform Mark Morris' "Sylvia" as well as mixed-bill programs at the New York State Theater from July 25 through July 30. The full Lincoln Center Festival press release:
http://www.lincolncenter.org/popUp/media_r...ssreleaseid=559
Background information on the Morris "Sylvia":
The wonderful review by Paul Parrish in danceviewtimes
http://www.danceviewtimes.com/dvw/reviews/...spring/sfb5.htm
The real test of a ballet for me is how it alters the way I see and feel, and Sylvia has not only shown me again the beauty of the world I live in, the ballet itself has gotten into the way I move and even into my dreams.Also, Helene's absolutely complete description, under SFB's Mark Morris Sylvia thread on May 11, 2004.
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Also strange that none of the debuts (2 Mearns, 2 Hall, Bar, Gold, Lin-Yee) were included, some of which obviously merited great reclame.
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Mr. Kolnik wasn't as busy last week, just four new ones:
(Ooooo... two "La's")
Tala G: Sylve, Kistler, Weese
Friandises: Sloan, Peck, Dronova (a good one of "The Winger")
BSQ: Sylve, Askegard
Octet: Fairchild, deLuz (especially nice for Megan fans)
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The "notorious" tattoo may be seen in NYCB's photo set for their Workout #2 dvd:
http://www.nycballet.com/programs/behind2.html
Of more artistic interest is the set of photos they give of the dvd's dancers dancing, which not only includes fine photographs of Mr. Hall, but also includes photos of since-departed favorites Ansanelli, Ash, Korbes and McBrearty:
http://www.nycballet.com/programs/gallery2.html
Click on photographs to enlarge.
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Good to read of Alexandra's continuing success, this time in the Robbins "Afternoon of a Faun", as well as her anticipated promotion to Principal. John Percival in danceviewtimes:
http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2006/Winter/...triplebill.html
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The party's over.
The season began with the gloom of an inauspicious opening night compounding concerns of great danseurs retired and ballerinas cast afar. But it turned out to be a season where many dancers flowered, new stars bursting forth among soloists and from the corps de ballet. And some stars going super nova! A memorable season.
1. Which dancers grew the most, and can you describe how they did?
2. Who, among the corps, made great strides but have yet to receive proper recognition in these pages?
3. With those super stars Boal and Soto gone, and Woetzel winding down (in frequency, not quality), where did you find hope and growth in the company's male contingent?
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But I can't think of anything classical or contemporary in style that might go with these.
Perhaps Mark Morris could come up with something. He's choreographed an opera (and also large scale choral works), and will take on Mozart for a full-length ballet this August.
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The feature on four recently promoted soloists that appeared in this month's printed program at NYCB is now online:
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When I saw Ashley Bouder in Sleeping Beauty (second performance) I knew she was not only a super young technician but a deeply moving, complete artist, more moving in fact than all the established Auroras that I've ever seen. The first performance proved she could dance it, but the second showed her ability to grow as an artist. Ever since, in any new role, I've learned to see her in sequential performances. "Two Bouders" is much more than twice as good.
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.... But I found the rondo in Brahms-Schoenberg totally lacking in schmaltz, both in the orchestra and the dancing. Some might consider that a good thing, but I missed the schmaltz.
Of course you are right, Farrell Fan, but when the schmaltz isn't in the ear, it is hard to be in the eye--it is, after all, Balanchine. I really think something was amiss in the orchestra last night.
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Friday 02/24/06
"You gotta go Friday night, there's two Farrells!"
That was the frequent happy cry at the State Theater in the 70's.
Tonight's version was "You gotta go Friday night, there's two Reichlens, two Sylves, and two Whelans!"
First was "After the Rain", a you-gotta-go all in itself. Whelan/Hall, Sylve/Ramasar, Reichlen/Fowler.
Part I for three couples to Arvo Part's relatively neo-classical first movement from "Tabula Rasa" found Tess Reichlen in Maria Kowroski's role. Very much a Balanchine dancer flung in our midst ex-nihilo from the glory days. That combination of daring and freedom melding with Tess's wonderfully expressive arms. La Sylve passed midnight (her 12 O'Clock is definitely midnight) to 1 A.M. a couple of times, and it was right because this hyper intelligent dancer can do no wrong. Toward the end we were graced by Tess's grand jete. Then, as the two couples exited to leave the stage alone for Wendy and Craig to begin Part II, each woman repeatedly touches her partner's hand. La Sylve's the firm grasp of a strong woman; Tess's a butterfly liting on his palm. Vive la difference!
There was rightly concern for what would happen when Jock Soto left this role of a lifetime. Yet those men who have followed have risen to the occasion. Perhaps a role of a lifetime is the reason. Part II, Arvo Part now into his pure-beauty mode, began with Craig Hall looking as though he were in a higher world, "in the zone" or however one might describe it. He held this profoundly serene state of adoration throughout. This was magnificent dancing. As for Wendy, this is a role of Grace, so far the Everest of a Choreographer/Muse marriage unlike any since Ashton/Fonteyn, before my time, and Balanchine/Farrell, during my time. Who knows what peaks await, after my time. But just now, anything I could say would demean it. If you would make a trip to see Vishneva in Giselle, then it would be wise to make a similar effort to see this.
Second a pair of Robbins works. Wendy was back, as the Novice in "The Cage." It worked, following Wheeldon's Odette with Robbins' Odile. Rebecca Krohn clearly relished her role as Spider Woman, and poor Adam Hendrickson didn't stand a chance as the practice victim. Sebastien Marcovici was a very Bolshoi victim #2, but even the wooing of Vasiliev couldn't have stopped this Novice Odile from doing her sisterly duty. Wendy was simultaneously virtuosic and terrifying.
The next short Robbins was Concertino, bringing back Sylve, Fowler(the more neoclassical dance), and Ramasar(the more Faun-like dance). All excelled, with La Sylve's pyrotechnics amazing, and a simple flick of each hand at the end a lesson in dancing in itself.
The program ended with Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet.
Allegro: Cast as last night. Jennie Somogyi showed a freedom to play with the Sylph-like nature of the woman who is partnered (maturity is wearing very well on Philip Neal) which bodes very well for the future. She looks all the way back, and already exploring where to go. Tess Reichlen was the unpartnered ballerina, and I can only echo the review above. The orchestra "sounded" rushed at times, but I don't think it was the tempo, since the dancers had plenty of breathing time.
Intermezzo: All went well with Jenifer Ringer and Nilas Martins in the Intermezzo. Such a beautiful ballerina.
Andante: Yvonne Borree, reviewed above in Thursday's performance, had a new partner, Nikolaj Hubbe. They partnered well and happily in the lyric sections, while Hubbe negotiated the central "military" solo with aplomb. But the big thing was the Peter Martins charisma he brought to the role.
Rondo alla Zingarese: The Gypsy movement is much about tempi, and the orchestra did seem to get this right ('though, intonation?). Sara Mearns was a revelation, and an inspiration to partner Charles Askegard, who danced brilliantly, as if a young man in love. And no wonder. Ms. Mearns is, of course, a beauty. But, oh can she dance those swerving changes of tempi!
Another very full house, but plenty of shouts along with lots of applause.
You gotta go Friday night, there's one Mearns!
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I've read the actual paper (it is quite short but extremely technical). They compared the genes of 85 performing dancers (and their parents) with two groups: athletes and people who are neither athletes nor dancers. They also measured (on psychometric scales) aspects of people that are believed to be associated with these two genes. A non-technical summary:
Dancers scored higher on a questionnaire that correlates positively with spirituality and altered states of consciousness, as well as on a measure of need for social contact and openness to communication. Very significant differences regarding the two genes* were found between dancers and athletes and between dancers and "civilians". These latter differences are beyond my ken. Hopefully some biologist can explain the technicalities. The paper:
http://genetics.plosjournals.org/perlserv/...al.pgen.0010042
The "spiritual" result found in this research has attracted interest in India, where as one might expect, spirituality is a strong aspect of classical dance:
“The dancer is transformed into the character he or she is performing,” says eminent Kuchipudi dancer Raja Reddy. “When I perform the role of Shiva, mentally and physically, there’s a feeling of transformation into Nataraja.”and
Dance in diverse cultures, including Indian dance forms, involves spiritual experiences. Some performers have been known to enter a trance-like state of consciousness. “It’s a highly spiritual experience. You don’t even realise that the limbs are moving,” said Sandhya Desai, a senior teacher at the Kadamb Academy in Ahmedabad and the director of the Nritya Kala Kendra in Chicago.The full article from The Telegraph in Calcutta:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060209/asp/...ory_5823248.asp
*The serotonin transporter gene is the one associated with spirituality, perhaps altering boundaries or barriers between "inside" and "outside." The arginine vasopressin (hormone) receptor would be associated with communication, bonding, social contact and openness of communication.
Athletes of God? Looks like Einstein really did understand dancers!
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Hiding away in the middle of today's New York Times article on the Kings of Dance is the following, refering to Kings producer, Sergei Danilian.
(He is developing a solo program for Ms. Vishneva, which will include an all-female corps de ballet.)Hope we get more information on this soon!
2006 Spring Season
in New York City Ballet
Posted
NYCB is offering rehearsal photo sets for each of the new Diamond Project ballets. So far there are four of Feld, working with Gilliland, and four of Elo, working with Sylve & Ramasar.
http://www.nycballet.com/diamond/feld.html
More will be posted from subsequent rehearsals.