Helene

Francia Russell said in a Q&A that SFB and PNB were trying to co-present "Vienna Waltzes" by having the company split the expenses, and, if I remember correctly, perform it jointly, since it needed so many dancers.

The company also experimented with added an outside company to the subscription season. NYCB came before I moved to Seattle, but my very first subscription performance at PNB was Australian Ballet in "La Fille Mal Gardee".

But only Dreyfus won a Razzie for it Sam Wanamaker was fabulous, and I loved his scenes with Remick. But my favorite scene still is when Remick describes to a surprised Irving how Remick created an audition tape for the competition by impersonating Irving's qualities.

I just read that Colorado Ballet is cutting a program from next season. I happy that PNB is able to take a different approach. This isn't the first time PNB has reduced the number of performances in a season and messed with subscriptions. When I first subscribed in the 1994-5 season, I had a Thursday subscription. I don't remember if the ballet opened on Tuesday -- although at that point I think they might still have shared the Opera House with the Seattle Symphony, which played Mondays or Tuesday -- or if they performed over three weeks, and opened the week/weekend before, but when my night became Opening Night, I got the "The Opening Night subscribers have first dibs on seating for your night, prepare to move" letter. I believe the solution was to move my entire group to second Thursday, which didn't work for me, because I wanted to know early if I wanted to see something again. I assumed it was because the Opening Night people were the big donors, not that they said "The people in row H, seats 101-2 in subscription A give more money than the people in the same seats for subscription B" -- I wouldn't want to deal with those logistics -- but that the whole subscriber night was given precedence, at least from what I remember of the notification. That doesn't mean that PNB is handling it the same way this time, but they have taken this approach at cost savings before, and they've faced the same dilemma.

An aside: I loved Lee Remick in "The Competition", one of my all-time favorite bad movies. She was so good-humored and professional about being in such a bad movie

Vancouver Recital Society presented composer and pianist Thomas Ades this afternoon in recital at the Chan Centre at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. When I was poking around to see what was playing in NYC around seder time this year, I found a link to his recital program (27 March) at Carnegie Hall, which is the same program he performed this afternoon. If I've heard Janacek's piano music before, I didn't know that was what I was listening to, although I know some of his symphonic music and a few of his operas. Ades played "On an Overgrown Path, Book II" except for the Vivo movement, and it had overtones of Debussy and Ravel; a few phrases reminded me of Ravel's "Sonatine". I heard the overcast quality yet not cold qualities in the music, like the pinkish heather that look cool and muted, but with brightness lurking beneath. The pieces were beautiful. To Franz Liszt's transcription of "Isolde's Liebestod" Ades brought out the bel canto quality of the music, the diametric opposite of the bangy, histrionic performances of Liszt I'm used to. His approach was almost vocal, and I was reminded of the Liszt song "O quand je dors!" in Frederica von Stade's recording. The final chord, which seemed to last minutes, was soft but strong. If I were tempted to think his approach to pieces was soft, he brought precise rhythmic clarity to the Prokofiev "Sarcasms". Ades opened the second half with Schubert's "Allegretto in C minor", wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, and plunged right into his own work, "Concert Paraphrase on 'Powder His Nose'" -- 'Powder His Nose' is an opera by Ades -- a joint commission by Vancouver Recital Society, San Francisco Performances, and the Barbican Centre. It was all over the place, quite a journey, and there was a lilting, Broadway musical quality to the closing "Scene Eight, 'It is Too Late'". I really liked the piece. He closed the regular program with Beethoven's "Bagatelles, Op. 126". In these little pieces, I heard indications of the conversation in the last few piano sonatas -- those always remind me of conversations -- and one of the things I loved most about Ades' performance of them was how patiently he let the uncomfortable and unresolved linger, without any rush to resolution. Ades performed two encores, the announcements for which I had difficulty hearing. The first was by Liszt, and I thought he said "Faust oublie", but bing shows a results for "Valse oublie". The second composer sounded like "Dauphin" to me, which means I probably didn't hear it at all, and bing can't search on such little input. Ades strength to me was his equal commitment to color and rhythm, which sounds obvious, but I'm used to pianists who emphasize one over the other. As he played, it was as if the overarching question was "What is the composer trying to sing to us?" and the underlying question was "What are the most interesting things about this passage", and the two were inseparable.

MIKHAILOVSKY BALLET LONDON COLISEUM 13- 25 JULY 2010 The Mikhailovsky Ballet from St Petersburg return to London’s biggest theatre, the London Coliseum, with a season including two world premieres and two UK premieres. Following their successful 2008 visit the company, now in their 177th season, come to the capital with another exciting two-week season. Swan Lake July 13 | July 14 | July 17 | July 22 | July 23 | July 24 | July 25 | The UK premiere by Mikhail Messerer of this Russian classic. Music: Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Choreography: Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, Alexander Gorsky, Asaf Messerer, Revised by: Mikhail Messerer, Set and Costume Design: Simon Virsaladze, Principal Designer of the Revival: Vyacheslav Okunev Swan Lake is the jewel in the repertoire of the Mikhailovsky Theatre and the highlight of its London season in 2010. This is a revival of the historical Moscow staging in 1956 - an exquisite production with choreography by Alexander Gorsky and Asaf Messerer. The triumphal restaging of this Swan Lake at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in September 2009 was devised by Mikhail Messerer, the company’s ballet master in chief. Giselle July 15 | July 16 | Making a welcome return to London is their beautiful two act ballet from the Romantic Era. Music: Adolphe Adam, Choreography: Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa, Libretto: Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint Georges, Théophile Gautier, Jean Coralli, Production: Nikita Dolgushin, Sets and Costume Design: Vyacheslav Okunev The Mikhailovsky Theatre’s 2008 production of Giselle by Nikita Dolgushin, a specialist in historical works, managed to amaze both the public and the critics. Dolgushin, a noble Albrecht in his time as a dancer, inspired the creation of the ballet and delicately united dance and classic mime. The choreographer revealed the essence of the romantic ballet: the story of Giselle is told in the language of ballet classicism. Together with Vyacheslav Okunev, who designed the epitome of romantic settings, Dolgushin created a production that was described by the Sunday Times as ‘an exemplary Giselle’. Cipollino July 17 | July 24 | The UK premiere of this enchanting two act work popular with children and adults. Music: Karen Khachaturian, Choreography: Genrikh Mayorov, Libretto: Gennady Rykhlov edited by Genrikh Mayorov after the fairy tale by Gianni Rodari, Sets and Costume Design: Valery Leventhal. The fairy-tale story by Italian author Gianni Rodari tells of the adventures of the Little Onion boy (in Italian, Cipollino), who fights the unjust treatment of his fellow vegetable folk (his little girlfriend Radish, old Mr Pumpkin, handyman Master Grape) by the fruit aristocracy (foppish Prince Lemon, martinet Signor Tomato and Count Cherry. Even though the ballet was created especially for young people, it never lacks the “serious” choreography of classical ballet. Laurencia July 20 | July 21 | London will be the first city in the world to witness this historical revival of the famous two act ballet, after a fifty year absence from stage, in a new full-length production created for the Mikhailovsky by Mikhail Messerer. World Premiere of the revival based on Lope de Vega’s Fuente Ovejuna. Music: Alexander Krein, Choreography: Vakhtang Chabukiani, Production: Mikhail Messerer The Mikhailovsky Theatre presents the revival of Vakhtang Chabukiani’s masterpiece Laurencia, based on the play Fuente Ovejuna by Lope de Vega. Chabukiani was one of the first to create a new choreographic language by means of his own particular blend of folk dance and classical ballet. In his ballet to the tuneful music of Alexander Krein, Chabukiani asserted the importance of male dance, furthering in particular the notion of the “heroic” style. Laurencia was premiered of 1939 at the Kirov Theatre. Leading parts were performed by Natalia Dudinskaya (Laurencia), Vakhtang Chabukiani (Frondoso) and Tatiana Vecheslova (Pascuala). In 1956 the ballet was staged at the Bolshoi Theatre where Vakhtang Chabukiani partnered Maya Plisetskaya. Triple Bill | July 18 | This exhilarating and exuberant performance shows the talents of the Mikhailovsky dancers. Le Halte de cavalerie (Cavalry Halt) Choreography: Marius Petipa, Music : Ivan Armsheimer New Piece Choreography: Viacheslav Samodurov, Music: Domenico Scarlatti Divertissements This season the Triple Bill programme includes Le Halte de cavalerie (Cavalry Halt) by Marius Petipa, giving the audience a second chance to see the light hearted classic gem created in 1896 to music by Ivan Armsheimer. A premiere created especially for the Mikhailovsky Ballet by Viacheslav Samodurov to music by Domenico Scarlatti. The Divertissements will crown the programme. They include Asaf Messerer’s breathtaking pas de deux Spring Waters to the music of Sergei Rachmaninov, staged by Mikhail Messerer and a pas de deux from Mikhailovsky’s exuberant production of Spartacus choreographed by Georgy Kovtun. It is a great opportunity to see both contemporary and classical ballets performed by true virtuosi.

Did he raise the money from American donors? If that's the case, then he raised money worth substantially more than 1.3m dollars; however, only if he pays the US dollar equivalent in Euros in Europe, or if he spends his money in the US, does he have the additional buying power of the exchange rate. It doesn't help a person in Great Britain or Europe to know that his pound or Euro is worth 1.X US dollars when he has to buy something in Pounds or Euros.

I saw Pacific Overtures with a visiting friend when I was in high school, and I remember liking it a lot, but don't remember much else about it.

One thing in this article really annoys me: While there is almost always luck involved -- the article describes the fortuitous offer by the mayor of La Granja de San Ildefonso -- and the ballet environment in Spain is quite different than in the US -- although the lack of a classical company in Spain cut both ways -- Corella spent a focused six years to create the foundation (a school) and a company before he hired a dancer. He was heavily involved in the administrative aspects, and it took him substantial longer to raise the 1.3m Euros than it did Wheeldon. (I'm assuming that 1.3m Euros in Spain=1.3m dollars in North America.) Even had Wheeldon not walked away from Morphoses, from all published reports, they took a substantially different approach to creating a company, and had substantially different underlying aims.

I'm pretty sure I know why the Met didn't risk HD broadcasts for "House of the Dead" and "The Nose", the two productions I was most interested in seeing this year. I'm still heartily disappointed, and I think they could have done a splendid promo for "The Nose" especially. I mean, jeez, they've got Karita Matila singing Lise, Peter Mattei as Yeletsky, and Dolora Zajick as the Countess in "Queen of Spades" next year, and despite having a hit and DVD in "Eugene Onegin", that's not even on the HD season. Given the number of subscriptions to HD they sell, you'd think they could risk one tougher production a year. Maybe they'll come to this conclusion if they review "The Nose" after next year.

First week's casting is posted to the PNB website: http://www.pnb.org/Season/09-10/Dove/#Details-Casting Vespers Rachel Foster Chalnessa Eames Chalnessa Eames Rachel Foster Laura Gilbreath* Brittany Reid* Brittany Reid Laura Gilbreath Lindsi Dec Lesley Rausch Lesley Rausch Lindsi Dec Kaori Nakamura Margaret Mullin Margaret Mullin Kaori Nakamura Carrie Imler Ariana Lallone Ariana Lallone Carrie Imler Kylee Kitchens Leah O'Connor Leah O'Connor Kylee Kitchens Red Angels Ariana Lallone Olivier Wevers ; Carla Körbes Batkhurel Bold ; Laura Gilbreath Seth Orza ; Carla Körbes Batkhurel Bold To Be Announced Lesley Rausch Lucien Postlewaite ; Kaori Nakamura Jonathan Porretta; Carrie Imler* Jordan Pacitti; Lesley Rausch Lucien Postlewaite Suspension of Disbelief Leah O'Connor* Leah O'Connor Leah O'Connor Leah O'Connor Lindsi Dec* Lindsi Dec Abby Relic* Lindsi Dec Chalnessa Eames Chalnessa Eames Chelsea Adomaitis* Chalnessa Eames Rachel Foster Rachel Foster Margaret Mullin* Rachel Foster Carrie Imler* Carrie Imler Carrie Imler Carrie Imler Barry Kerollis* Barry Kerollis Ezra Thomson* Barry Kerollis Benjamin Griffiths Benjamin Griffiths Benjamin Griffiths Benjamin Griffiths James Moore James Moore James Moore James Moore Jonathan Porretta Jonathan Porretta Andrew Bartee* Jonathan Porretta Lucien Postlewaite Lucien Postlewaite Lucien Postlewaite Lucien Postlewaite Olivier Wevers Olivier Wevers Olivier Wevers Olivier Wevers Serious Pleasures Narrator Lucien Postlewaite* Lucien Postlewaite Jonathan Porretta* Jonathan Porretta Carla Körbes* Batkhurel Bold* ; Carla Körbes Batkhurel Bold ; Sarah Ricard Orza* Seth Orza* ;Sarah Ricard Orza Seth Orza Lindsi Dec* Karel Cruz* ; Lindsi Dec Karel Cruz ; Chalnessa Eames* Barry Kerollis* ; Chalnessa Eames Barry Kerollis Lesley Rausch* James Moore* ; Lesley Rausch James Moore ; Kylee Kitchens* Benjamin Griffiths* ; Kylee Kitchens Benjamin Griffiths Ariana Lallone* Jordan Pacitti* ; Ariana Lallone Jordan Pacitti ; Rachel Foster* Jerome Tisserand* ; Rachel Foster Jerome Tisserand *First time in role.

PNB has announced the 2010-11 season, as well as the reduction of standard rep runs from 8 performances to 7: Opening Night will move from first Thursday to first Friday, with the first Thursday performance eliminated. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thea...6987_pnb11.html The season consists of: All Tharp: "Opus 111", "Afternoon Ball" (), and "Waterbaby Bagatelles" () Kent Stowell's "Cinderella" Three other mixed bills consisting of a new work by Marco ("Mopey") Goecke, "Petite Mort", Kylian's "Six Dances", Jerome Robbins' "Glass Pieces (), Ratmansky's "Concerto DSCH" (), "Jardi Tancat", Paul Gibson's "The Piano Dance" (), Morris' "Pacific", Tanner's "Ancient Airs and Dances", and a TBA. (I've never seen the Morris.) Season Ender:( See below) "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Go hear doug! Go see this program! The two parts presented in Seattle are among the best ballet experiences I've ever had. Here is the press release: SEATTLE, WA — Pacific Northwest Ballet Education Programs Manager Doug Fullington will give a presentation of Balanchine’s Petipa as part of Works & Process at the Guggenheim. The presentation’s lecture-demonstration format will feature performances by PNB company members and discussion of dances by both Marius Petipa and George Balanchine. Balanchine’s Petipa will be presented at 7:30 pm on Friday, May 14 and Saturday, May 15 in the Peter B. Lewis Theater in the Guggenheim Museum. For tickets, call 212.423.3587, or visit www.worksandprocess.org Balanchine’s Petipa explores the influence of the choreography of Marius Petipa (1818-1910) and his colleagues at the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg on the choreography of George Balanchine (1904-1983), with a particular focus on choreography for men. Excerpts from 19th-century ballets will include The Awakening of Flora, La Bayadère, The Nutcracker, Paquita, Raymonda, The Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. Excerpts from Balanchine ballets will include Apollo, Divertimento from “Le Baiser de la Fée”, Divertimento No. 15, Emeralds, Prodigal Son, Raymonda (1946), Raymonda Variations, and Theme and Variations. The program’s Balanchine excerpts have been staged by Peter Boal, Elyse Borne, Frederic Franklin, and Francia Russell. The 19th-century dances have been reconstructed by Mr. Fullington using notations made in St. Petersburg in the Stepanov notation method at the turn of the 20th century. Doug Fullington has been Education Programs Manager at Pacific Northwest Ballet since 2005 and Assistant to Artistic Director Peter Boal since 2006. He has been with PNB since 1995 and is also on the consulting staff of Pacific Northwest Ballet School as dance historian. He is a fluent reader of Stepanov notation, a classical ballet notation system developed in Russia and used in the Imperial Theaters, St. Petersburg, between about 1894 and 1915. In 2000, he contributed reconstructed dances to the Bolshoi Ballet’s revival of Marius Petipa’s The Daughter of Pharaoh, and in 2004, he reconstructed Petipa’s Le jardin animé for PNB School. He most recently reconstructed 25 dances from Petipa’s 1899 production Le Corsaire for the Bavarian State Ballet. His writings on the Stepanov notations have been published in Ballet Alert!, Ballet Review, Dance View, and Dancing Times. In 2000, he was named a principal researcher for The George Balanchine Foundation’s “Popular Balanchine” project. Mr. Fullington is also a professional musician. In 1993, he founded the Tudor Choir, a professional vocal ensemble based in Seattle that he continues to direct. Joining Mr. Fullington will be eight PNB company members: Principal dancers Carla Körbes, Kaori Nakamura, Lucien Postlewaite, and Mara Vinson; and soloists Benjamin Griffiths, James Moore, Seth Orza, and Lesley Rausch. PNB Acting Music Director and Conductor Allan Dameron will accompany. All performances occur at the Peter B. Lewis Theater at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue at 89th Street, New York. Tickets are $30 ($25 for Guggenheim members, $10 for students 25 and under with valid ID) and may be purchased by calling 212.423.3587, M-F 1-5 pm, or online at www.worksandprocess.org.

I saw "Julie and Julia", discussed on a Ballet Talk thread, and "The White Ribbon", which I found suffocating, in a good way.

What I could pick out of that article is: A Major Choreographer's Season New work by Wayne McGregor (L'anatomie de la sensation) and POB premiere by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (Rain) Roland Petit evening Swan Lake (Nureyev) Romeo and Juliet (Nureyev) Paquita (Lacotte) Caligula (La Roche) Les Enfants du paradis (Martinez) Coppelia (Bart) La Maison de Bernarda" and "Une sorte de..." (Ek) or a work by Ek who also choreographed those pieces? Rite of Spring (Bausch), started before her death?, in a program with works by Balanchine and Trisha Brown. Hamburg Ballet and Bolshoi will be visiting companies.

I only saw the last hour or so, but there were several shots of women in the audience I didn't recognize who seemed to be clapping at half-time, as if they were afraid to burst their facial seams.

Agree with the first, she looked stunning. Glad you said the second anyway, because it brings up that I don't think there are goddesses in Hollywood anymore (gods either, for that matter). That kind of aura around film actors and actresses really seems to me to have been stripped away, even though it's said that acting standards themselves are higher. For me, there's not a single man or woman in film who have that kind of aura (including an old one here and there who used to have it) . There are beauties, sure--Michelle Pfeiffer, Viggo Mortensen--but none who have enough inaccessobility and aloofness not to seem basically mortal. Not that I think this is not normal evolution, but this is why movies are not magical to me in the way they were still even as recently as the 70s (occasionally--even then that aspect was disappearing). There are many celebs living in my neighborhood. some of whom I pass quite frequently and one whom I admire greatly, but the one I find to have the most aura is Elliott Carter! who is 102 (or 103) hears old... Whereas for me, if I passed Helen Mirren on the street, it would be like in the first minute of Star Trek, where the unnamed crew member would be turned into a pile of minerals. Pfeiffer, Mortensen, et. al. I'd say, "Oh". (They're all way too skinny in real life.) Meryl Streep or Stanley Tucci would be a big "Wow!"s.

Sandra Bullock's dress was gorgeous, and Helen Mirren is a goddess.

Sorry to answer this so late. The following is based on this years rule; they are tweaked each year. Spirals: Requirements: 1. Spiral positions are a combination of edge (inside and outside) and leg position. 2. To be considered a spiral position, the knee and foot of the free leg have to be above the hip. 3. Only the first three attempted position+edge combos count. 4. A position+edge combo counts only if it is held for at least 3 seconds. 5. In the Short Program, there has to be at least one change of foot. 6. The spiral step sequence is a required element in the Short Program. Mandatory deductions, not based on quality, if: 1. In the Short Program, fewer than three positions are counted; in the Free Skate, fewer than two positions are counted. 2. Less than 50% of the pattern from the beginning of the first spiral to the end of the last is in spiral position The combination of edges and positions reflect difficulty, and there is a technical panel that determines the level of the spiral sequences, step sequences, spins, and footwork (and for Pairs, lifts and twist lifts). Difficulty is increased by changes of edge and changes of positions; higher risk changes of positions, like weight changes, increase levels. The higher the level, the higher the base score to which Grade of Execution -- rated by the judges on a scale of -3 to +3 -- is added or subtracted. The level also affects the scale of Grade of Execution: For example, a Level 4 spiral sequence begins with a base value of 3.9, with positive GOE adding a point for each grade (+1 adds 1 point, +2 adds 2 points, etc.), which is the same for most triple jumps, but a Level 3 spiral sequence begins with a base value of 3.3, and each positive level of GOE adds only .5 instead of 1. For levels, there are all kinds of criteria, mostly based on how long positions are held, when the change of edge are done, and body position: For example, if all three positions are assisted, then it doesn't matter if you do 40 revs in a Biellmann spin, you can't get higher than Level 1. For change of edge spirals, the skater can't change position during the change of edges, etc. Spins are broken down into three basic positions (upright, camel, and sit), with layback being classified as a subset of upright, and three types (basic [on one leg], combination, and flying entrance). Combination spins can be one one leg (change of type of position only) or with a change of foot (same type position on both sides or change of type of position on each foot). There are 12 classifications, and skaters can't repeat a classification in the Free Skate. Requirements: 1. In the Short Program this year, a flying spin, a combo spin (with change of feet), and a layback spin (Ladies) or single position type with change of foot (Men) were required. 2. In the flying spin, there had to be "fly" -- both skates in the air at the same time in the entrance. 3. In the sit spin, the skater's butt had to be at least as low as the knee. Mandatory deductions, not based on quality: 1. Less than the minimum revolutions (three) in the spin; for combo change combo or single type with change of foot, three revs on each side. The changes of edges and positions, a single position held for eight revs, and the number of basic spin positions in combo spins determine the level set by the technical panel. Risk is usually a factor in upping the level of a spin. Step sequences are handled similarly. Requirements: 1. For the Short Program, men must do two of three of straightline, serpentine, or circular footwork; Ladies must choose one of these three in addition to the spiral step sequence. Mandatory deductions, not based on quality: 1. Less than 50% of the pattern has steps or turns 2. The wrong pattern is skated (although who can tell now?) 3. Jumps with more than one rev are included The levels are set based on the combination of the number and difficulty of turns, whether turns are equally in both directions, the amount of upper body movement (this is not supposed to be just arms) -- again this goes to risk -- and the types and combinations of types of steps done on the correct edges: mohawks, rockers, brackets, loops. The steps are the basic components of skating that were the tools of figures, and are much like tendu, jete, ronde de jamb, fondu, etc. in ballet.

Thank you for your review, especially the description of Chung in "in the middle, somewhat elevated".

It would be a lot easier. Olympic security was great: laptops stayed in bags and went through xray, liquids were ignored except for personal water bottles, from which people were asked to take a drink, shoes stayed on, and coats need only be opened if they weren't put through xray. People did have to remove belts, though, which led to some interesting episodes when the belt-less had to hold out their arms to be wanded. Food and beverages brought in were confiscated, but that was due to the "No outside food" rule, although in some venues, unopened water bottles and sealed food was allowed.

Thank you for the link, kfw! The dancer on the right, Chelsea Saari dances with Ballet Arizona, and she was wonderful as one of the fates in "La Valse" last year.

It's official: I know nothing about curling. I just read wrap-up articles on the Women's and Men's gold medal games in "The Curling Times", and according to their analysis, each set of teams played badly.

Wow, these are fantastic -- thank you Lidewij I love the upper body of the male soloist in Songs of the Andes (3/4): http://www.youtube.com/user/EmpireOfArt#p/u/7/4yyfvOZOd5I (He comes in at the 40 second mark.) There are a few old clips and stills in the "Yuliana Malkhasyants guiding Diadhilev's Heritage - Vision of the Dance Exhibition" segment: http://www.youtube.com/user/EmpireOfArt#p/u/2/BZ5fok5zzIY The excerpts of her own dancing show all of what I love about her and why I was entranced by her Mercedes: the weight of character vs. the fleetness of foot, the quick direction changes, and her supple back: http://www.youtube.com/user/EmpireOfArt#p/u/0/4_2XI5AQoCk