Helene

Part of that is a result of the way the Foundation decides a company is ready to give a work, some of which has to do with company size, some of which has to do with company finances, some to do with who is running the company, and some which has to do with how developed it is. It takes a special exception to be allowed to stage ballets without their original sets and costumes, no matter how much an improvement the replacements are. (Paris Opera Ballet clearly got one for its "Jewels" and PNB for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" re-designs, and PNB got dispensation to stage "Liebeslieder Walzer" excerpts for Russell and Stowell's tribute performance without the original sets, to name three.) Russell or Stowell once said in a Q&A that PNB considered doing "Vienna Waltzes", maybe with sets rented from NYCB?, as a joint venture with San Francisco Ballet, since it needed so many dancers. They'd have to recruit the 12-year-olds to do it on their own. There are Balanchine "starter" ballets that the Foundation will allow companies to stage, and companies that are building the rep will get the same ones, then expand into the next set, etc. Even if a donor were willing to fund the sets, there are only three US companies -- NYCB, ABT, and SFB -- that are large enough to do the "Union Jack"s and "Vienna Waltzes" or to have a cast for "Symphony in C" that isn't doubled up for the first three movements. Naturally you'll see the same ballets done by many companies: that's where they are in the development cycle. The same thing is happening in the Robbins rep: first "Fancy Free", then "In the Night", then "The Concert"...

Those pyrotechnics are solos and, to an extent, pas de deux, and even when they are classical, they are out-of-context, in that these works look best when they are danced in classical style in the context of a full ballet and company. (That by inuring the audience with "pow", they make it harder to "see" the more delicate elements that lead up to them in longer ballets is a big issue, like when Beijing Opera comes with all stick-fighting and little opera to appeal to foreign audiences.) One of Balanchine's greatest insights was to create dance that required uniformity of energy and impetus rather than uniformity of style, because he wasn't going to get uniformity of style at the Ballet Russe or in his many attempts to create his own company in America. How many companies actually hire dancers they've trained since they were eight years old like in the royal/imperial academies? Almost all of the major company schools in North America split the school in early teenage years, some continuing with a parallel track of kids who don't make the Professional Division. SAB, the most prestigious company academy in the US, trains the majority of its dancers professionally for at most five years, and they add top level students each year. That's not molding dancers in a company style from the beginning of their training, although with the retirement and death of many of the Russian and European teachers who've been replaced by former company dancers, training is probably more homogeneous now than not that long ago. The current rep provides jobs for the most diversely trained group of dancers without relying upon style.

I think that given the reviews and build-up of the new Star Trek movie, it could go into the "overrated" pile, but I thought there was enough to love in it to make it worthwhile seeing. I was particularly impressed with Zachary Quinto's young Spock, which I found to be a remarkably subtle, gentle characterization, apart from the occasional fisticuffs. I can't remember where I read this, but one reviewer noted that the father/son thing with young Kirk was "Star Wars" territory, and said it was like getting a Communion wafer in synagogue. I agree with this and am glad someone articulated what I couldn't quite put my finger on.

Oooops (Thank you!)

PNB Principal Dancer Olivier Wevers has formed a company, Whim W'Him, to perform his own works, and for its launch it will perform "Three Seasons" to Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" with On the Boards, January 14-17, 2009 2010, joining a particularly strong Northwest Series: http://www.ontheboards.org/index.php?page=season_preview09 Congratulations to Wevers!

When hierarchy is established through the structure of a work, that structure attempts to focus the audiences' eyes on the established one. When everyone is doing the same thing in parallel in the stage democracy, what better way to show hierarchy of talent? It's like the women who look glamorous in Mao suits.

Maybe not, but they've done what Artistic Directors have done over time: create rep to feed their company at no cost above their salary. I don't know Weiss' at all, and I think Martins' is limited in keeping the dancers' chops up to speed for a large range of styles. Tomasson and Stowell, at least, are talented craftsmen -- Ib Andersen is more than that, especially with his story ballets, since he hasn't seen to jettison his Danish roots in story-telling and creating a community onstage -- and they feed/fed their companies a range of rep that was needed at any give time and which keeps the dancers' skills honed. I think there might be a few works of each that were in the standard rep if AD's would put on each others' work, already. It never ceases to amaze me that the promising things in the low-cost/abstract genre I see aren't shared/traded. Balanchine's other genius was as a producer. Sure he was inspired and had a series of piano reductions in his back pocket, but he fed the company with what it needed -- populist hits, star vehicles, cameos, openers, closers -- all to a wide range of music and ranging the gamut from abstract to "Nutcracker". The best of the craftsmen do the same and stretch their dancers. I don't think it's a coincidence that Martins was charged with "The Magic Flute" for SAB when he started to choreograph. That wasn't his interest, and he let it slide until "The Sleeping Beauty", and not again that I can remember until the next full-length classic beckoned. There are some opportunities for young choreographers: every major company has a school, and those kids give performances. (Whether there is a full-time job in it is another story.) At PNB, the Choregraphers' Workshop is the last performance of the year, for the last few years using students from the school in the works of company members and staff. Ballet Master Paul Gibson -- sadly nothing from him this season or next, at least for the main company -- and corps member Kiyon Gaines have had their works produced in recent seasons.

I think that was what Kaufman was saying about the influence of Artistic Directors. Genius doesn't sit around waiting for an invitation or a contract. A creative genius creates because he or she has to, and s/he gets a bunch of like-minded people to collaborate, if s/he needs performers. S/he rents a warehouse, or in Balanchine's case, a high school, or finds another place to perform. Or s/he has a day job (Balzac, Ives, Zola, Tharp) and funds his/her work. If they are inspired by narrative, they'll choreograph narrative ballets. A very talented choreographer/Principal Dancer at PNB, Olivier Wevers, is forming his own small company to perform his choreography. He's making it happen, not waiting to be handed a main stage. Ashton was very varied in his work, and did abstract as well as story ballets. Assuming this means narrative ballets, Artistic Directors are chomping at the bit for new story ballets, to which I can attest having done the Calendar for the last three years, some of which makes me cringe. Balanchine protegees are cited as having a single aesthetic, but I don't think that is borne out by the rep or by the most talented resident choreographers (Possokhov, formerly Wheeldon, Ratmansky). The more workman-like AD choreographers might, but Ballet Arizona's programs this year included three full-lengths, a Wheeldon/Fokine/Tharp triple bill, and an all-Balanchine. (I think we lost a new Andersen ballet when program six was canceled.) Robert Weiss at Carolina Ballet is the principal choreographer, but the rep this year was five full-length story ballets, a Robbins/Weiss/Bongar triple bill, and a Weiss/Taylor-Corbett program. Taylor-Corbett's work is described as "inspired by Amnesty International...At times dark and disturbing, this piece also explores our ability to endure and persist, allowing hope for humanity to flower in our hearts." Hard to imagine which Balanchine ballet that would describe. This year's PNB triples bills have been "Jewels", an all-Tharp (including two new works), a Broadway mixed bill (Robbins/Stroman/Wheeldon/Balanchine), and a Robbins/Wheeldon/Balanchine closer. Next season, we get Maillot's "Romeo et Juliette", three full-length story ballets, a Kylian/Goecke/new Caniparoli/Robbins program, a 4-Dove program, and an all-Balanchine. The only things I've seen by Caniparoli are "Lambarena" and "The Bridge", neither of them terribly Balanchinean, and the latter with a story. The throw-out-the-baby-with-the bathwater syndrome happened in those companies that were tied to the legacy of their genius choreographers: the Royal Ballet with Ashton, who was accused of quelching the young, maverick talent of MacMillan and was quelched himself, and ABT with Tudor. The closest thing to protegees who are protecting the seedlings are New York Theatre Ballet with Tudor and Iain Webb in Sarasota for Ashton, if choreographers need exposure to these.

A couple of the best ballets I've seen since the death of Balanchine had his mark on them: Paul Gibson's "The Piano Ballet", and a wonderful little piece to Webern than Daniel Duell choreographed for a small group of dancers at Jacob's Pillow in the mid-80's.

Not until I get back from the trip I'm about to leave on...

The discussion continues here with today's article by Sarah Kaufman in The Washington Post.

It's hard to imagine that Kaufman has been watching ongoing performances of Balanchine by San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Ballet Arizona when she writes: That's not to say I haven't seen emotionally inscrutable performances by Natalia Magnicaballi at BA or Batkhurel Bold at PNB, for example, but time after time, I've seen anything but skinny, emotionally guarded dancers. (They are fast, though.) And I'll take the naked stage over Tony Walton's sets for SFB's "Jewels" any day of the week. When she wrote I doubt she had seen Ginger Smith and Astrit Zejnati or Tzu-Chia Huang and Ross Clarke in the Kay Mazzo/Peter Martins roles in one of Balanchine's most abstract creations, "Stravinsky Violin Concerto", in which each couple painted a strikingly different portrait of a relationship through choices in phrasing and dynamics in complete service to the score. The audience met the end of Aria II by the first couple with an intense silence and by the second with audible sighs. I doubt the ache of real life escaped anyone. These are not isolated examples that I've seen in the last decade.

As an infrequent visitor I didn't have a sense of VanderStoep, a relative newcomer to the company, until, ironically, "La Valse", but Wojtowicz showed that she was most capable of principal roles with her splendid Polyhymnia. Clarke, who did get many more opportunities, was giving richer and deeper performances with every program. He's too young to retire! He did look so happy, though, didn't he? My original seat was in the second row of the back section, but in the middle, so that when the entire row in front of me filled with short ladies except for single tall man with big hair who sat directly in front of me, it was only a decade of Feldenkrais that allowed me to make the micro-movements to see anything around his head for the Stravinsky without blocking the people behind me. I retreated to the back row for the rest of the program, and although I thought I recognized the woman who handed Clarke his bouquet as Elizabeth Conway, and Clarke as Clarke, it was such a shock, I wasn't absolutely sure. Thank you for posting the ID.

There were two ceremonial bouquets at the end of today's performance, the season ender: Karen Wojtowicz, who gave a superb performance as Polyhymnia in "Apollo", and Ross Clarke. It's a good thing we don't have an animated weeping icon, because I'd use up all of the board's bandwidth with it x 1000000000.

I hope people see this and comment. I was on a plane when this was shown on the West Coast today (starts mid-morning here), and I'm going to be on another plane during the US re-broadcast and unable to be in Canada for the Canadian one I love Lawrence Brownlee -- he's one of my favorite singers on stage today -- and I would have loved to hear Elina Garanca. I was hoping when these started that they'd release a lot more DVD's than they have, and the best stuff, maybe apart from the "Eugene Onegin", is still in the vault. I'm not counting on a release of this one.

Thank you for the heads up, sandik! (Waaaaah!!!! I'm going to be out-of-town....)

At least these dancers have the consolation that the "history" he's so glad to get rid of is also classical ballet, which they represent.

I'm hoping for three Juliets, especially since it's the beginning of the season, and I hope there's an understudy. I think Rachel Foster would be terrific; I'd also love to see a tall Juliet. Young teenage girls are often taller than the boys.

Many thanks, jllaney! I don't think ballet companies will have a problem, as long as they stay away from ballerinas with slightly olive-tinted tan hair, worn loose.

I've never been sure whether the "t" was pronounced, so I've never said it out loud. But I suppose I have no excuse, with the Internet so close and all

Moderator Note: At the request of several members, I've split this off from the original thread (concerning the Merce Cunningham Company). It deserves a discussion of its own. Bart Another senior person really sticks his foot in it, although this time it is Orlando Ballet Artistic Director Robert Hill: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-story-1...0,2938084.story

Here's the notice we received: It's an online auction at eBay, and bidding closes Saturday. The shoes are listed under "Autographed Prima Ballerina Ballet Slippers" on Page 2, just under Jennifer Love-Hewitt's Autographed Shoes.

The Met is in the processing of re-engineering the older broadcasts before they release them for Sirius radio, and I assume for the Met Player as well. Just the other day they released a Sutherland/Horne "Norma" from the early '70's. It's taking them a while, but many more will make it into the library. If I'm at home, and the radio is on, it's Sirius Met Opera Radio 80% of the time, especially when the broadcasts are playing. I switch around during the aria/song/solo music that plays between broadcasts, since Sirius is a set schedule, not on demand. And every time they resurrect the Sills/Verrett "Siege of Corinth". The only thing I find hard to get used to is that except for live broadcasts, it's straight through: although they have a set of behind-the-scenes interviews, which I hate to miss, usually the most you get between operas is a Sirius plug. (Right now they have opera singers say "You are listening to Met Opera Radio Sirius" in their native language, introduce themselves, and then say it in English.) As soon as one act is over, Margaret Juntwait is giving the synopsis of another. There are no fridge or bio breaks, except between operas! That makes "on demand" that much better: put it on hold, grab a sammy, and then continue. I'm just waiting for them to stream to iPhone. Then I'll be an even happier camper. The saddest thing about the Sirius/XM merger is the loss of Vox, the 24/7 vocal channel on XM whose music director was Robert Aubry Smith. XM had broadcasts from other companies, which are probably available over the internet on local radio stations, however long they survive, but mainly a wide range of vocal music programmed by Smith. He now has the overnight show on the classica station at the combined XM/Sirius, but it's while I'm sleeping... Ballet only works so well on streaming devices. The ballet YouTube excerpts look miniscule on my iPhone.

Thank you for the heads up, insider. The direct links to the .pdf files are here: Apollo La Valse Stravinsky Violin Concerto "Apollo" looks great. I loved Wojtowicz's Amor in "Don Q" a couple of years ago, and I'm glad to see she's in a featured role. I missed Paola Hartley in the last program: I would have loved to see her in "Les Sylphides". It looks like Ian Poulis is playing "Death" in "La Valse": that will be i*n*t*e*n*s*e. Magnicaballi in the von Aroldingen role is counter-intuitive, but I bet it will be grand. So many opportunities for so many dancers!