Helene

I always remember the ticket people who are kind and make an occasional exception or suggest an alternative I hadn't thought of. And then I remember things like having bought a ticket or maybe a pair to the Seattle Symphony gala opening. They were still advertising tickets when a friend called to say he was going to be in Seattle, and that he'd like to compare the acoustics in the year- or two-old Benaroya Hall to those at the Myerson in Dallas. His brother was coming too, and he preferred that we sit all together. I called the box office, and explained the situation, acknowledging that I was asking for an exception and a major favor to return the original(s) and get a set together, and if it wasn't possible, I understood. I got a rather snippy and begrudging response. I would have preferred a "no" to being treated like a bratty child. Obviously, I haven't forgotten that either.

One thing the Metropolitan Opera found when the house was more empty than usual was the way to sell more tickets and subscriptions was to have a very flexible exchange policy. When the house started to fill up, they reverted to a stricter policy. Perhaps NYCB will adjust to market conditions as well.

sidwich, would you mind giving an overview of how you thought the couples fared from a real ballroom standpoint?

Here are the direct links to the other parts: Thank you for the heads up, innopac!

I'm surprised that NYCB has bundled all seasons together, when many other arts organizations have created "Mini" and "Make your own" subscriptions. I recently became a subscriber to the Vancouver Symphony through a "Make your own" sub; otherwise, I wouldn't have subscribed, and I might very well have missed most of the concerts to which I'm now subscribed.

Here is the press release; I think it's great that the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra will perform: PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET SCHOOL PRESENTS A DAY OF DANCE Saturday, June 19, 2010 Marion Oliver McCaw Hall 1:30 pm and 7:00 pm The 29th Annual PNBS School Performances See the stars of tomorrow on stage today! Featuring the world premiere of a new work by Kiyon Gaines; George Balanchine’s Chaconne; and excerpts from Stars and Stripes Performances will also feature Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Stephen Rogers Radcliffe And between the performances: The Second Annual PNBS Celebration Dinner SEATTLE, WA —While Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2009-2010 season draws to a close with the final performance of Coppélia on June 13, audiences don’t have to go into immediate withdrawal for another week; On Saturday, June 19, Pacific Northwest Ballet School presents two full programs of dance, featuring the talented students of the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. The 29th Annual School Performances will be presented at 1:30 and 7:00 pm. Both shows will feature PNB’s most advanced students performing George Balanchine’s Chaconne and excerpts from Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes. Music for Stars and Stripes and Chaconne will be performed live by the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Stephen Rogers Radcliffe. Audiences at both performances will also get to see the world premiere of 10: “Un” A-Frayed Edges, choreographed by PNB Company dancer Kiyon Gaines to a score by composer Aaron Severini. In between the two performances PNB School will host the Second Annual Celebration Dinner, to honor and commemorate the successes of PNBS students over the past year, and raise necessary funds to support promising young ballet students. Former PNB principal dancer Patricia Barker will be the honorary guest at this celebratory benefit dinner. All three events take place at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets may be purchased from the PNB Box Office: 206.441.2424, online at www.pnb.org, or in person at 301 Mercer Street. (See TICKET AND SHOWTIME INFORMATION below for more details.) “School Performance offers the chance to see the broad range of accomplishment from our gifted students,” says PNB School director Peter Boal. “The simplest of movements are executed with the utmost precision by our youngest, while the top tier demonstrates complicated choreography with ease.” Pacific Northwest Ballet School’s 29th Annual School Performances feature students of all levels performing programs designed to showcase their skills and accomplishments over the past year. This year, the 1:30 pm performance will feature students in Levels I-VIII, DanceChance, and Intermediate Boys classes. The 7:00 pm performance will feature Levels VII, VIII and Professional Division students. Both performances will feature PNB School’s most advanced students performing George Balanchine’s Chaconne, excerpts from Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes, and the world premiere of 10: “Un” A-Frayed Edges by PNB Company dancer Kiyon Gaines. 10: “Un” A-Frayed Edges
Music: Aaron Severini (10)
Choreography: Kiyon Gaines
Costumes: Larae Hascall and PNB Costume Shop
Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli World Premiere 10: “Un” A-Frayed Edges is the latest work created by PNB corps de ballet dancer and choreographer Kiyon Gaines, and his first collaboration with New York-based composer Aaron Severini. Gaines frequently creates new works on PNB School’s Professional Division students and, on occasion, his fellow Company members. His choreography is as compelling as his seemingly endless positive energy; his movement is filled with intricate direction changes and angles. Dancers’ limbs are unfurled and flung, they slice and spoke through the air. 10 promises to challenge these young dancers who are on the cusp of professional careers, energize audiences, and continue to evolve the contemporary ballet aesthetic. Chaconne Music: Christoph Willibald von GluckChoreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust Staging: Peter Boal, assisted by Marisa Albee and Elaine Bauer Costume Design: Karinska Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli Premiere: January 22, 1976; New York City Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet Premiere: March 3, 1983 Throughout his career, George Balanchine was called upon by opera companies around the world to stage the ballet portions of their productions, and on occasion an entire opera. Chaconne has its origin in one of these occasions—Balanchine’s staging of Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice for the Hamburg Opera in 1963. Thirteen years later, in 1976, the choreographer consolidated most of the dances from that production into a complete ballet for his own company, adding only the initial pas de deux and, somewhat later, the introductory ensemble. In this form, Chaconne (which takes its title both from an ancient dance and from the popular name for ballet music used to end an opera), is a series of ensemble numbers and variations—pas de deux, pas de trois, pas de cinq—which capture brilliantly the rococo spirit of 18th century music and movement even as that spirit is re-created by Balanchine’s 20th century sensibility. Stars and Stripes Men’s Regiment Music: John Philip Sousa, adapted and orchestrated by Hershy Kay Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust Staging: Timothy Lynch Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli Premiere: January 17, 1958; New York City Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet Premiere: March 3, 1983 George Balanchine loved the military band tunes of John Philip Sousa; his marches were irresistible to the choreographer. What better way to make the point that America, not Europe or Russia, was now ballet’s natural home than to combine brilliant classical dancing with rousing popular music evocative of every American’s childhood? The result was a splashy, uninhibited spectacle containing some of the most demanding and ingenious choreography Balanchine ever invented. TICKET & SHOWTIME INFORMATION All three events take place on Sat., June 19, 2010 at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer Street at Seattle Center. Pacific Northwest Ballet School’s 29th Annual School Performances will be presented at 1:30 & 7:00 pm. Tickets to a single School Performance are $25-$65 for adults, $15-$60 for youth 0-17; tickets to both School Performances are $40-$100 for adults, $25-$100 for youth. The Second Annual PNB School Celebration Dinner begins at 5:00 pm, and is preceded by a cocktail reception beginning at 4:30 pm. Tickets are $125 for adults and $70 for youth. Patrons can also sponsor a PNB School scholarship student to attend the benefit dinner held in their honor for just $75. For more information about this event, contact PNB’s Special Events office at 206.441.2429 or events@pnb.org. Discounts are available for patrons who purchase tickets to both School Performances or one of the performances and the School Celebration Dinner. Contact the PNB Box Office for more details. Tickets may be purchased: * By calling the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424 (Mon.-Fri. 9am–6 pm; Sat. 10am–5pm) * In person at the PNB Box Office, 301 Mercer St. (Mon.-Fri. 10am–6pm; Sat. 10am–5pm) * Online 24/7 at www.pnb.org. (Please note: Combo discount tickets are not available online.) * 90 minutes prior to the performance (subject to availability) at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer Street.

There was some talk on the Seattle Opera Facebook page about a possible CD that might come out of it, and this is one opera I'd like to hear again without the staging.

I just watched my copy for the first time, and I was very moved by Anna Tsygankova's performance. Her feet were lovely, and the way she seemed to stay in the air forever at the top of the assembles was exquisite. I particularly liked that her Act I was vibrant when she was happy, but that the mad scene was tempered, without the usual hair pulling and tossing. You could see her go into herself very deeply, foreshadowing Act II. I loved the sets and costumes, although it's hard for me to tell the impact in the theater vs. on film. I thought the camera people did a great job of filming and kudos to them and the editor(s) for not trying to star in the video with cuts all over the place. It was like watching a real performance, in the best way. The interviews were terrific, and I loved the rehearsal footage. Boris Gruzin got a wonderful performance from the orchestra. I was hoping for the Peasant Pas de Deux, not the pas de quatre, but since it was there, it was a pleasure to see Michele Jimenez; in her variation, she used her feet as if she were holding a paintbrush creating a watercolor. I loved Mathieu Gremillet's clear, elegant style. I thought Anu Viheriaranta and Emanouela Merdjanova's were brilliant in Zulme's and Moyna's variations. The production takes the point of view that Albrecht loves Giselle truly-madly-deeply, and, poor, misunderstood chap, he would have cleared up everything if she hadn't died, or, to be more accurate, he hadn't killed her first, and in this vein, Jozef Varga was very affecting in the second act. I was partial to Jan Zerer's very human Hilarion. Definitely a keeper.

With the last programs of the 2009-10 season, Katita Waldo retired. San Francisco Ballet produced two short videos about Waldo at the end of the season, called "Before the Bow" and "After the Bow": http://www.sfballet.org/interact/watch/ind...tid=86702059001 to Ms. Waldo!

The dancers for whom mira has supplied links are still listed on the page.

Touché

Thank you for the links, mira! Do dancers guest for CCBM when they no longer are part of the main company? In Seattle, we've had former PNB dancers come back to guest, sometimes as character dancers, and sometimes in pure dancing roles. Le Yin, a former Principal Dancer who had to retire from full-time dancing due to knee injuries, recently took part in Doug Fullington's "Balanchine's Petipa" presentation at the Guggenheim with other company members. I'm not sure how CCBM's contracts work.

I was not looking forward to "Amelia" not because it was new -- I've traveled for modern and contemporary opera, as recently as earlier in the month to see "Moby Dick", and I loved "Mourning Becomes Elektra" and "The End of the Affair" -- but because the plot reminded me of a story I'd expect to read in "Ladies Home Journal". I wasn't expecting the libretto, which wasn't flawless, but very strong, to be stronger than the music. As someone who generally likes linear, I also wasn't expecting to particularly like the structure of layering simultaneous scenes, but I thought it worked clearly and succinctly in dramatic terms, both in differentiating the various individual times the story took place -- example: young Amelia talking to her father and her mother receiving the news that her father, Dodge, was missing -- and the multi-layered attitudes towards flight and risk. Although the cost of war to the family was shown clearly both in the loss of Dodge and the blackmail and killing of a young Vietnamese child, the gray was the tension between the cost of ambition, risk, and exploration that flight represented -- the Aviator's most memorable line was "I was never bored" -- and the sacrifices to be safe. Dodge's duty in the military is to accept whatever mission he is given, but that he liked to fly and that he chose another tour of duty, despite the risks to his family, are the underlying sources of this tension and the moral dilemma, at least for his family. I loved the way the narrative was done in the scene that ended the first act, in which Amelia and her mother go to Vietnam in the '80's, having received communication from people who were there when Dodge was shot and taken away still alive. From there, instead of dialogue, Dodge's capture in the '60's was enacted, and the transitions in and out of the '60's were seamless. The libretto was poetic, but where it did go to rhyme, I thought it was weakest. The sentimentality of the final scene of Amelia's child's birth, complete with her dead father and mother and her younger self, was leavened by the contrast in the hospital room next door, where a father watched his son, who had taken what turned to be a fatal fall, die, and the aftermath in mime: the return of the son's belongings, the minister, the hospital admin who was filing the paperwork, the nurse who plopped down to read a newspaper a half dozen chairs away, until she acknowledged his existence. This contrasting scene, enacted by the gifted young baritone Jordan Birsch, was great theater. Plus, the opera had a "Letter Scene" and a "Mad Scene"! Apart from some parts that reminded me of Broadway, I missed where the music was particularly influenced by anyone. Gerard Schwarz, conducted the music brilliantly, as if this were a score he had known for decades. I was aware of how the orchestra was very "live" when it was playing, but apart from the orchestral interludes and Amelia's mad scene, as well as several a capella passages, none of the music was memorable, and I was more affected by the drama. The women's voices were beautifully suited to the material: Ashley Emerson as Young Amelia, Jane Eaglen as Dodge's sister/Amelia's aunt, Luretta Bybee as Amelia's mother, Jennifer Zetlan as The Aviator, and especially Kate Lindsey, whose singing and acting were of one piece, and who nailed her mad scene. The men were weaker; Nathan Gunn was barely audible from where I was sitting in the Gallery Upper, which isn't that far from the stage, unless the orchestra was playing very softly. The exception was the stellar William Burden, whose clear diction and honeyed, clear singing were the vocal highlights of the opera.

[Moderator Beanie Back On] This goes for all dancer news: where they are dancing, where they are now, etc. If you don't have a link or citation, please don't post it on the board or it will be removed. As bart wrote "I know" or "I heard" or "I happen to know" and other insider info is not official news. It's a simple rule. We're not judging the spirit or veracity of the post. It just doesn't belong here unless it's official. (We don't have time to send email every time we need to edit a post.) [Moderator Beanie Back Off]

Alfred Molina sounded wonderful in the revival cast album. Fierstein is being touted on the big board at The Paramount Theatre in Seattle, where Mark Morris Dance Group is performing through tomorrow afternoon.

Thank you goro. We've also got two other threads about this film when it was given UK broadcast and film festival viewings: http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=30916 http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=29434

Second week is scheduled to be up a week from Tuesday, according to the press release. Here are the casts in list format: Thursday, 3 June Swanhilda: Kaori Nakamura* Franz: Jonathan Porretta* Dr. Coppelius: Peter Boal* Waltz of the Golden Hours: Mara Vinson* Dawn: Carrie Imler* Prayer: Carla Körbes* Spinner: Chalnessa Eames* Discord and War: Ariana Lallone* /Batkhurel Bold* Friday, 4 June Swanhilda: Mara Vinson* Franz: James Moore* Dr. Coppelius: Jeffrey Stanton* Waltz of the Golden Hours: Rachael Foster* Dawn: Lesley Rausch* Prayer: Kylee Kitchens* Spinner: Chalnessa Eames Discord and War: Carrie Imler* /Karel Cruz* Saturday, 5 June matinee Swanhilda: Kaori Nakamura Franz: Jonathan Porretta Dr. Coppelius: Olivier Wevers* Waltz of the Golden Hours: Liora Reshef* Dawn: Lesley Rausch Prayer: Sarah Ricard Orza* Spinner: Brittany Reid* Discord and War: Lindsi Dec*/Jerome Tisserand* Saturday, 5 June evening Swanhilda:Carla Körbes* Franz: Seth Orza* Dr. Coppelius: Peter Boal Waltz of the Golden Hours: Mara Vinson Dawn: Lesley Rausch Prayer: Kylee Kitchens Spinner: Chalnessa Eames Discord and War: Carrie Imler /Karel Cruz* *Debut in role From the Balanchine Catalogue, the original cast: Swanilda/Coppélia, Patricia McBride Frantz, Helgi Tomasson Dr. Coppélius, Shaun O'Brien Waltz of the Golden Hours: Marnee Morris Dawn, Merrill Ashley Prayer, Christine Redpath Spinner, Susan Hendl Discord and War: Colleen Neary, Robert Weiss

I saw the movie yesterday on a preview DVD, and if the version shown in the theaters is the same, like too many documentaries I've seen lately, since it was not intended to be a "day in the life" of approach, it would be an excellent movie with about 20 minutes edited out, but as it stands, through repetition and talking heads it loses focus and impact. There are three great elements in the film: the footage of Cambodia, both when Anne Bass first spots Sar and when he returns to dance in a gala, the footage of Sar's dancing, and any scene in which Olga Kostritzky, a heroine if there ever was one, appears. Sar might not be the only ballet dancer to have left his family and come to another country to face loneliness and frustration -- Part, for example, has described this experience -- but what other contemporary ballet dancer moved to another country not knowing the language or what ballet was? Because of this, Peter Boal comes across as dense at the beginning of the film, as he describes how Sar couldn't follow a glissade assemble, etc. combination in his initial tryout, but how could Sar when he didn't know what those things were? Jock Soto, on the other hand, was taken by Sar's ability to jump, and in the telling, there's a sparkle in his voice. (I remember reading that Soto saw a male dancer on TV, was inspired, and started to jump around the living room.) It's understandable how Boal thought that Sar had little chance to succeed -- this wasn't the late 30's or early '40's when Melissa Hayden took up ballet as a teenager -- but there was no chance he'd succeed on day one in ballet terms. Boal articulates a lot of this later, and he was one of Sar's primary teachers once Sar made it into ABT; the editing does him no favors, though. There is some lovely dancing from Sar, particularly in the excerpts from "La Source" and the Varna competition pieces, where he brings a soft, lilting style and bypasses gymnastic excess. It was interesting to see how while his turnout could turn a bit lax in glissade, for example -- not surprising for a dancer for whom turnout was relatively new, not drilled into him for a decade -- wherever he led with the knee, like the beautiful attitude turns, his turnout was live. If the film goes to DVD, the performance footage alone would be worth it. Olga Kostritzky is the heart of the movie, not because of the work, but because of the calm, matter-of-fact way in which she did it and her overall matter-of-fact graciousness.

Just in, from a PNB press release: SEATTLE, WA – Pacific Northwest Ballet’s artistic director, Peter Boal, has widely acknowledged that attending a New York City Ballet performance of the comic ballet Coppélia at the ripe young age of nine was what convinced him that he wanted to be a dancer. Eight years later he was a member of the NYCB corps de ballet in Coppélia. Eventually he rose to the rank of principal with the company and had the opportunity to dance Franz, the romantic male lead. Bringing a brand new production of George Balanchine’s Coppélia to the stage has been a dream of Mr. Boal’s since he took over the reins of PNB, and now with the opening night on June 3rd, he will go as far as one man can with the ballet: Dancing the role of eccentric toymaker Dr. Coppelius, whose life-like creation, the doll Coppélia, creates hilarious havoc between two young lovers. Mr. Boal’s performance is just one of the leads that have been announced for the first week of PNB’s production of Coppélia. In addition to Mr. Boal as Dr. Coppelius, lead performers on opening night Thursday, June 3 at 7:30 pm include: principal dancer Kaori Nakamura as Swanilda, and principal dancer Jonathan Porretta as Franz. Opening weekend will also see the PNB Orchestra conducting Léo Delibes’ lively score under the baton of two guest conductors: At the opening night performance, the PNB Orchestra will be conducted by Nathan Fifield. On Friday, June 4 at 7:30 pm, lead performers include: principal dancer Mara Vinson as Swanilda, soloist James Moore as Franz, and principal dancer Jeffrey Stanton as Dr. Coppelius. The PNB Orchestra will again be led by guest conductor Nathan Fifield. (This performance will be broadcast live on 98.1 Classical KING FM.) For the Saturday, June 5, 2:00 pm matinee, lead performers include: principal dancer Kaori Nakamura as Swanilda, principal dancer Jonathan Porretta as Franz, and principal dancer Olivier Wevers as Dr. Coppelius. The PNB Orchestra will be led by guest conductor Emil de Cou. At the Saturday, June 5, 7:30 pm performance, lead performers include: principal dancer Carla Körbes as Swanilda, soloist Seth Orza as Franz, and artistic director Peter Boal as Dr. Coppelius. The PNB Orchestra will again be conducted by Emil de Cou. Complete casting for the first week’s (June 3 – 5) run of Coppélia will be posted online at pnb.org on Tuesday, May 25. Casting for the second week’s performances, June 10 – 13, will be posted online on May 31. Program and casting are always subject to change.

"Balanchine's Petipa" was cited in Alastair Macaulay's review of American Ballet Theatre's "La Bayadere": If only we could see the ballet here, with the reconstructions. The ballet has three great principal roles, the Golden Idol, the Shades for three soloists, character roles, and I bet the East Indian community in Redmond/Bellevue could come up with great costumes.

Doesn't "Etudes" start with a barre section?

Carla Korbes is on the poster, so I think it's safe to say she's dancing Swanilde.

Many thanks for the heads up, Anne! I ordered #5 (~315 DKK/~50 USD/~40 EUR/~35 GBP, including shipping). It might take a couple of weeks. (Delivery time in Denmark is five business days.)

(JMTC="Just my two cents")

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