Helene

A lot of "yums" this time, lots of debuts (*), and we don't even know what the second weekend will bring. The women get a better deal, because in the early American Balanchine there weren't a lot of men in the corps, but the roles for the male corps in "Square Dance" are great.

Casting is up for the first week of "All Balanchine", which as of today is: Thursday, 15 April: Serenade Mara Vinson, Kylee Kitchens, Kaori Nakamura, Lucien Postlewaite, Batkhurel Bold Square Dance Carrie Imler/Lucien Postlewaite The Four Temperaments First Theme: Laura Gilbreath*/William Lin-Yee* Second Theme: Lindsi Dec/Kiyon Gaines* Third Theme: Sarah Ricard Orza*/Jerome Tisserand* Melancholic: Jonathan Porretta Sanguinic: Kaori Nakamura/Jeffrey Stanton Phlegmatic: Olivier Wevers Choleric: Ariana Lallone Friday, 16 April: Serenade Mara Vinson, Kylee Kitchens, Chalnessa Eames* , Lucien Postlewaite, Jerome Tisserand* Square Dance Kaori Nakamura/Jonathan Porretta The Four Temperaments First Theme: Sarah Ricard Orza*/Josh Spell Second Theme: Chalnessa Eames*/Barry Kerollis* Third Theme: Kylee Kitchens*/Jordan Pacitti* Melancholic: Lucien Postlewaite Sanguinic: Carrie Imler/Batkhurel Bold Phlegmatic: Karel Cruz Choleric: Laura Gilbreath Saturday, 17 April matinee Serenade Laura Gilbreath*, Ariana Lallone* , Lesley Rausch* , Karel Cruz* William Lin-Yee* Square Dance Rachel Foster*/Benjamin Griffiths The Four Temperaments First Theme: Amanda Clark*/Eric Hipolito Jr.* Second Theme: Chalnessa Eames /Barry Kerollis Third Theme: Kylee Kitchens /Jordan Pacitti Melancholic: Jonathan Porretta Sanguinic: Lesley Rausch*/Seth Orza* Phlegmatic: Olivier Wevers Choleric: Lindsi Dec* Saturday, 17 April evening Serenade Carla Körbes*, Lindsi Dec*, Carrie Imler, Olivier Wevers, Batkhurel Bold Square Dance Kaori Nakamura/Jonathan Porretta The Four Temperaments First Theme: Sarah Ricard Orza/Josh Spell Second Theme: Lindsi Dec/Kiyon Gaines Third Theme: Kylee Kitchens/Jordan Pacitti Melancholic: Benjamin Griffiths Sanguinic: Carrie Imler/Batkhurel Bold Phlegmatic: Jeffrey Stanton Choleric: Ariana Lallone *First time in role.

On the plane ride back from NYC, I watched the DVD of "Dancing for Mr. B". In it Mary Ellen Moylan said her mother sent her to NYC after reading about SAB in an article, and Darci Kistler said she wanted to join NYC after reading a magazine article that described how Balanchine used to pick out perfume for each dancer so that he could tell who was where in the theater by smell. You never know what will trigger someone's imagination.

I'm so glad you reported on this program, ami1436! I've always wanted to see the company, but haven't been able to get there yet.

I, too, would see Alexandrova in anything. Between Osipova and Krysanova it's harder: I would be happy with either, because while Osipova already has a lauded interpretation of Kitri, I love seeing dancers grow, and I love to see dancers as they take on roles early in their careers. Krysanova was a wonderful Gamzatti in "La Bayadere" last year.

While I understand why people want to see Osipova, I'm confused by the characterization of Ryzhkina and Lobukhin as "fourth-string", as they got a number of positive comments in the Osipova at OCPAC in Feb thread in the Bolshoi Ballet forum.

I don't know why, but I keep losing multiple quotes, and I'll summarize: I don't think the number of followers Bouder has is the last word in growing the younger audience, but who her friends and followers are. If there are young artsy people among her friends -- the opinion leaders -- then they can influence their network of friends and make the ballet the place to be. I'm an old cow Luddite when it comes to Facebook, a passive user, and I've been exposed to a remarkable network just by reading the comments on my friends' status comments. I've accepted that the Twitterati are beyond my grasp (see "old cow Luddite", above). But when have I been able to write 140 characters or less about anything? We had an entire glamor thread lamenting the death of glamor, which I don't think is high on the list of younger audiences. I have at least three friends who told me independently that the biggest shock to their system was hearing Gelsey Kirkland's accent and voice on "60 Minutes", which did not match the ethereal quality of her dancing. I agree if you don't want to read the Twitter equivalent, don't go there. For those who don't follow NYCB threads with bated breath -- I know, imagine! -- Ashley Bouder isn't just any young dancer: she's as dominant on her turf as Alexandrova and Tereshkina are on theirs, maybe even more so.

The ticket link is here, which will bring you to a page from which you can choose a performance. The remaining performances are this Friday at 7:30pm (9 April) and Sunday at 2pm (11 April). I'm disappointed that I was back East for Passover and missed the first, and will be in Colorado this coming weekend. "Ariadne" isn't my favorite opera, but the staging, about which Peter Kazaras gave us hints during the Q&A that followed the last "Falstaff", sounds superb.

Of all the pieces on the program, I found "Inner Voice" the weakest choreographically, despite very strong performances by Abi Stafford and Nancy Richer, partly because having a series of similar songs of similar lengths is not conducive to development and takes a firm and very disciplined grasp of characterization, like Tharp showed in "Nine Sinatra Songs", to make it work, and partly because Scher didn't do crowd control very well in the piece, which was disappointing, because his group work showed promise in "No Matter What", the first piece. I agree with Michael about Labean's lyrics. The music is not my style, but I thought it was strong for the style it was. Her voice is weak, but I kept imagining Trisha Yearwood singing them to great effect. I was surprised at how unbalanced and shrill the sound system was. In fact, the entire program brought out my inner yenta. I love Part as much as the next intermittent visitor to New York, but where she was featured in "Mystery in the Wind" and "Touch", she looked static, almost like a wounded bird, which was a sharp contrast to the energy of her partners and the other soloists, and I didn't "get" that her introversion and quiet grace was the point. Nonetheless, while watching, I started to cast Ballet Arizona dancers in "Mystery in the Wind", where I loved the sections for the three soloists -- the dresses were beautiful, too -- and would gladly see them again. (I would also gladly see Marcelo Gomes, who could not have been more perfectly costumed had anyone tried, in anything, even "Mopey".) The only other time I had seen Abi Stafford in a featured role was in what I think was her debut in the Act II Pas de Deux from "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and I found her upper body work to be stolid. Here, and in "Inner Voice" she was another dancer, and her full-bodied movement was great to see. I loved the musical selections, which were very dancy. For "Touch" I was casting PNB dancers, especially in the Pas de Trois for Savannah Lowery, who was splendid -- a knock-out performance -- Ralph Ippolito, and Eric Tamm. I thought Ippolito's correctness looked stylistically odd in "No Matter What", but he was just right in "Touch" and well-matched with Tamm. "Little Stories" was set to songs by Jason Mraz, and that the work was less ambitious structurally than "Inner Voice" -- three couples compared to many couples with group work -- was probably why I found it stronger, because although Mraz's range was a bit broader, I think it was the format of three couples that allowed more specific characterization. I didn't think it was the strongest work on the program, nor was "No Matter What", but still in yenta mode, I was thinking about how much more interesting the choreography and the characterizations were in these pieces and how much more responsive Scher was to lyrics than in "Movin' Out" and anything I've seen by Susan Stroman, and I wish someone would hire Scher to do a big Broadway show, so that he can subsidize the rest of his work. I think the miss there was the "Our Love's Defense" movement for Savannah Lowery and Christian Tworzyanski. On the other hand, even Jerome Robbins finished "Glass Pieces" with the weak "Aknaten" movement. I didn't feel at all yenta-like watching "Utopia", in which Ashley Bouder replaced Sara Mearns. While I was hoping to see Mearns for the first time, seeing Bouder was a great treat. The woman is a force of nature, and I'm fairly certain that what I saw was not exactly as the work was conceived. In general, strong work should be dancer-proof, but she may have been too big for the space in this work. I'd love to see it in a quieter performance someday. If there hadn't been so many verklempt who felt that the On the Boards was defamed by bringing in pointe shoes earlier this year, On the Boards would be a perfect space to see this company in Seattle. The Vancouver Playhouse (*ahem*) has no such qualms and is another terrific space, but I think the price point is a little higher. ETA: I just realized I didn't describe what I liked about Scher's choreography in general, which were 1. his attention to arms and hands that is very refreshing to me, after several decades of emphasis on legs, 2. absence of wrestling pretzel pas de deux: most of his couples seem to like each other without the man needing to stretch the woman into Cirque du Soleil shapes, and 3. the lack of "when in doubt, pirouette" response to the music.

This has become a discussion of the critics: their responses to the show and to one another. Has anyone actually seen it?

I've been thinking about this since I found out. There are soooo many possibilities for Peasant Pas and Myrtha, probably more than for Giselle. I'd love to see a Giselle cast against type. I have my own hope for maybe not the most obvious Albrecht.

PNB just issued a press release to announce that PNB would be adding "Giselle" to the 2010-11 season: A Fullington/Smith collaboration: this sounds fantastic!!!!! Here's the updated season (**change to original schedule): Rep 1 – DIRECTOR’S CHOICE September 24 – October 3, 2010 Six Dances – PNB Premiere Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Choreography: Jiri Kylian Staging: Roslyn Anderson Petite Mort Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Choreography: Jiri Kylian Staging: Roslyn Anderson Jardí Tancat Music: Maria del Mar Bonet Choreography: Nacho Duato Staging: Hilde Koch Glass Pieces – PNB Premiere Music: Philip Glass Choreography: Jerome Robbins Rep 2 – ALL THARP November 5 – 14, 2010 Opus 111 Music: Johannes Brahms Choreography: Twyla Tharp Afternoon Ball Music: Vladimir Martynov Choreography: Twyla Tharp Waterbaby Bagatelles Music: 20th-century bagatelles (Anton Webern, Kevin Volans, John Lurie, David Lang, Astor Piazzolla, Mickey Hart, John Adams) Choreography: Twyla Tharp Staging: Shelley Washington Rep 3 – CINDERELLA February 4 – 13, 2011 Music: Sergei Prokofiev Choreography: Kent Stowell Staging: Kent Stowell and Francia Russell Rep 4 – CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS March 18 – 27, 2011 Concerto DSCH – PNB Premiere** Music: Dmitri Shostakovich Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky World Premiere Choreography: Marco Goecke Pacific Music: Lou Harrison Choreography: Mark Morris Staging: Tina Fehlandt The Piano Dance Music: John Cage, Frederic Chopin, Alberto Ginastera, Bela Bartok, Gyorgy Ligeti Choreography: Paul Gibson Rep 5 – A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM April 8 - 17, 2011 Music: Felix Mendelssohn Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust Staging: Francia Russell REP 6 – GISELLE – World Premiere Staging** June 3 – 12, 2011 Libretto: Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier Music: Adolphe Adam Choreography: Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, and Marius Petipa Staging: Peter Boal Choreography Reconstruction: Doug Fullington Historical Adviser: Marian Smith

He may not be flashy, but I think Pacitti is pretty spectacular, and I looked forward to seeing him every time I saw him on a cast list. There's a video on the PNB Facebook page with an interview about "Red Angels" with Pacitti and Leslie Rausch, and some short rehearsal and performance clips of them and some other casts: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/vid...8326&ref=nf If we're lucky, we'll get to see Pacitti perform this at 8 Encores.

No, alas, can't have everything, alas...

I just finished Julia Child's "My Life in France", which I found delightful. I was so sad when the book ended, she seemed to enjoy life so much.

VAI isn't the Mariinsky publisher of choice, and I think the Mariinsky DVD is expected to be released with "Firebird". There is a Paris Opera Ballet VHS dated 1990 called "Paris Dances Diaghilev", but that consisted of: Stravinsky: Petrushka (choreography - Fokine; dancers - Loudières, Mogne, Guizerix) Weber: La spectre de la rose (Fokine; de Vulpian, Legris) Debussy: Prélude l'après-midi d'un faune (Nijinsky; Jude, Pietragalla) Stravinsky: Les noces (Nijinska; Platel, Belarbi, Legrée, Lormeau) There's nothing on the VAI website, either, and this DVD is listed on amazon.com for a 13 Apr 10 release date, which less than a month away.

"The Chairman Dances" was originally part of the third act of the opera. I don't remember the music well enough to know how much made it into the scene where the Nixons and the the Maos reminisce and dance, but it was never part of the Act II ballet. "The Chairman Dances" is rooted in social dance music, while the music for the ballet is quite different. The music for big rescue pas de deux, for example, is "Tristan"-like until the couple heads offstage, which sounds like the transition in "The Nutcracker" between what Balanchine used for the big swelling music for the moving bed and the beginning of the "Waltz of the Flowers". While the Maos do dance in the opera, the story of their courtship is in the text rather than in choreography.

According to the Met website, this production was originally created for the English National Opera. I found a review that lauded "the remarkable choreography by Mark Morris" for Madame Mao's ballet "The Red Detachment of Women". The Met website doesn't mention the choreographer, but I hope they keep it. (Although it is NOT listed for HD broadcasts next year, wuzrobbed.) The Lucinda Childs choreography for "Dr. Atomic" at San Francisco Opera was dull, dull, dull. I know the role's originator, James Madallena, got great reviews for his performance as Nixon. It's hard for me to imagine one better than Robert Orth's, especially how he showed how Nixon could turn from a lap-dog to a paranoid attack dog over the course of a single sentence. Also, Richard Paul Fink is last in the Met cast list. I hope that means he's Kissinger, because he'd be perfect for it. ETA: Adams himself will conduct!

Act II of the John Adams/Alice Goodman "Nixon in China" is the centerpiece of the drama, and between the opening key scene for Pat Nixon and the closing key scene for Madame Mao Tse-tung is a ballet. In the drama, the Nixons are taken to a performance of a stereotypical Communist Era message ballet: Evil Landlord exploit and beat a peasant girl, she escapes and is recaptured, a young soldier saves her -- classical pas de deux ensues -- young soldier and his cadre gather up the Evil Men. This is Adams/Goodman though, and part of the way through Wei Wei Wang's wry commentary on the set piece, Henry Kissinger interrupts by making lewd comments about the exploited heroine and becomes an Evil in the ballet, garbed in Chinese clothing, exclaiming "Whip her to death!". At one point in the ballet, Kissinger is wounded, and in the part where the Evils recant their evil ways and embrace the peasantry, Madame Mao joins in and insists on discipline, takes a pistol, and kills Kissinger. I can't remember the last time a ballet has a ballet been central to the music and drama of an opera -- a turning point in it -- but although the choreography wasn't particularly memorable, even allowing for the tight space, the dancing, particularly by Fei Guo as the heroine, and the dramatic impact was.

According to Wikipedia, the Joffrey "Rite of Spring" was performed on PBS in 1990: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rite_of_Spring If this is a DVD with that performance, I'm ordering two and keeping one in shrink wrap until the other copy wears out.

I read this during intermission of a Paralympic Ice Sledge Hockey semifinal this afternoon, and my row-mates were wondering why I suddenly was wiping away tears. In everything from the perfectly sculpted cameo of his Tutor in "Swan Lake" to his undulating solo in "Lambarena" to his spirited "Puck" to his dynamic "Red Angels" to his perfect port de bras as Boy in Blue in "Dances at a Gathering" and in countless corps/demi/soloist/principal roles in between, Pacitti has been a compelling, complete dancer, one I will miss greatly. I wish him the best in the next phase of his life. (sniffle)

Here's the press release for the "Discover Dance" program, which will include PNB dancers is excerpts from PNB rep: Pacific Northwest Ballet Presents the Spring DISCOVER DANCE Community Performance The second outreach performance of the 2009-2010 Season 2:00 pm -- April 24, 2010 Marion Oliver McCaw Hall 321 Mercer Street at Seattle Center SEATTLE, WA — Pacific Northwest Ballet will present the second of this season’s two DISCOVER DANCE Community Performances on Saturday, April 24 at 2:00 pm at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. DISCOVER DANCE is part of PNB’s Community & Education Programs, offering long-term in-school residencies throughout the Greater Seattle area. The performance this spring will involve 350 elementary and middle school students from four public schools: Daniel Bagley Elementary, Graham Hill Elementary, and Alternative School #1 from the Seattle Public School District, and Eastgate Elementary from the Bellevue School District. This performance will include original choreography and backdrops created by the twelve participating classrooms with the guidance of PNB Teaching Artists. As a special feature, the DISCOVER DANCE Community Performance will also feature excerpts from the PNB repertory performed by Company dancers as well as performances by REACH Student Dance Group, an outreach program for youth ages 11-15. Tickets to DISCOVER DANCE are $12 and may be purchased by calling the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424, online at www.pnb.org or in person at the PNB Box Office, 301 Mercer St.

Casting is now up on the Ballet Arizona website for the Classical Innovations program, which runs 26 Mar (8pm), 27 Mar (2pm and 8pm), and 28 Mar (2pm) at the Orpheum Theatre. The "Raymonda" was wonderful when it premiered -- Giselle Doepker was beautiful as one of the two mains soloists -- Dianne Chilgren will play the Chopin for "In the Night", which is cause for cheers, and the new Ib Andersen work is set to Britten. From the .pdf which is available for download from a link on this page: Raymonda Choreography by Marius Petipa Music by Alexander Glazunov Staged by Olga Evreinoff and Maria Simonetti Adagio: Ensemble Pas de Quatre: Beau Campbell, Erica Felsch, Megan Chmelik, Chloe Freytag Pas de Quatre: Ilir Shtylla, Michal Wozniak, Slawomir Wozniak, Matthew Poppe 1st Variation: Kanako Imayoshi 2nd Variation: Michele Mahowald 3rd Variation: Jillian Barrell 4th Variation: Chelsea Teel 5th Variation: Shea Johnson (26, 27E), Astrit Zejnati (27M, 28) 6th Variation:: Tzu-Chia Huang (26, 27E), Natalia Magnicaballi (27M, 28) Finale: Ensemble In the Night Choreography by Jerome Robbins Staged by Christine Redpath Music by Frédéric Chopin Special Guest Artist: Pianist Dianne Chilgren Paola Hartley and Roman Zavarov Natalia Magnicaballi and Ilir Shtylla Ginger Smith and Astrit Zejnati (26, 27E) Chelsea Teel and Shea Johnson Michelle Mahowald and Joseph Cavanaugh Natalia Magnicaballi and Ilir Shtylla (27M, 28) World Premiere Choreography by Ib Andersen Music by Benjamin Britten, Diversions for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 21 Ginger Smith and Roman Zavarov Chelsea Teel and Shea Johnson Natalia Magnicaballi and Astrit Zejnati Tzu-Chia Huang and Russell Clarke Jillian Barrell, Beau Campbell, Sasha Edelman, Jennifer Ham, Kara Hanretty, Michelle Mahowald Joseph Cavanaugh, Daniel Marshalsay, Ian Poulis, Ilir Shtylla, Michal Wozniak, Slawomir Wozniak Chelsea Teel's name changed from Chelsea Wilcox. It's nice to see Huang paired with Clarke in the new Andersen piece, and Zavarov with Hartley again in the Robbins and Smith in the Andersen.

The dancer in the background looks like Kent to me, but, on the other hand, she looks a bit tall/long-legged to be Kent. Maybe its the perspective or that I've only seen Kent in film?

Those are beautiful! Thank you so much, hyperdog The second photo is a beauty, with Diana Adams and Arthur Mitchell rehearsing "Agon". The dancers in the back who are learning it behind them look familiar, but I can't quite place them.