Helene

Laura Tisserand on working with Twyla Tharp during the making of "Waiting for the Station" in 2013: http://blog.pnb.org/2016/05/laura-tisserand-on-twyla-tharp-insecurities-and-giving-it-your-all/

Cheers to Colorado Ballet, which received a 2016 Spring NEA Grant for the revival of Tudor's "Pillar of Fire." At least someone recognizes

"Shindig" is a yearly program in which Whim W'him"'s dancers choose the choreographers with Whim they'd like to work, based on submissions to the company. The NEA has granted them $10K towards this annual venture. Congratulations to Olivier Wevers and Whim W'him! http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/41411-nea-grants-for-dance-2016/#entry370290

Posted to Twitter by Boston Ballet: https://twitter.com/BostonBallet/status/732964391138791428 (Click the link for the photo.)

Kathryn Morgan has joined the Premiere Dance Network's podcast lineup, and her new show will debut on June 1: https://www.instagram.com/p/BFjctUpoLJH/

James Whiteside has a new podcast "The Stage Rightside" on the Premiere Dance Network: http://balancing-pointe.com/stage-rightside-james-whiteside/ Kathryn Morgan has joined the Premiere Dance Network's podcast lineup, and her new show will debut on June 1: https://www.instagram.com/p/BFjctUpoLJH/ They join: Megan Fairchild's "Ask Megan Show" -- new episodes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday on Balancing Pointe Podcasthttp://balancing-pointe.com/ballet-podcast/ Dr. Melissa Klapper's mini-series "Pirouettes from the Past"http://balancing-pointe.com/pirouettes-from-the-past/ Barry Kerollis' "Pas de Chat" (one full week for the launch and then every Friday)http://balancing-pointe.com/pas-de-chat-podcast/ and "Becoming Ballet" http://balancing-pointe.com/becoming-ballet-podcast/onthis ever-growing media network.on this ever-growing network.

The trailer: Is that Leta Biasucci in "Square Dance"? It was great to see a glimpse of Josh Spell in "Fancy Free." He was superb as the shy sailor.

I'm so glad to read that, mimsyb. I love "Sylvia," and the multiple casts sounded like great fun and a smorgasbord, a taste of everyone. I'm afraid I've only seen "Swan Lake" shared. Once was in San Francisco, where Anthony Randazzo was injured after he danced the first two acts, the second with Evelyn Cisneros, and then Tina Leblanc and David Palmer danced Acts III and IV. In Seattle, an injured Casey Herd danced Acts I, II, and IV, with Batkhurel Bold dancing Act III. Carrie Imler was Odette/Odile, but it isn't often the Prince is also another person in Act III!

"The Little Humpbacked Horse" is charming.

There are two separate time issues: when the dancers might have time, the staging resources often aren't available and/or there's a conflict between corps rehearsals and availability for Principal rehearsals. This is less of an issue for soloists at the larger companies, but could be more of an issue at small and mid-sized companies, where, for example, Swanilda's friends or the six Princesses in "Swan Lake" Act III often have soloists among them. When dancers are on the threshold of the season, then their workloads and lack of staging/rehearsal resources can make it unlikely for them to get onstage in a new role. It isn't always the company that has the final say, either. Depending on the power of the stager or choreographer, casts get nixed. It's rare to have the happy ending like fifth-cast Chelsea Meiss in Ratmansky's "Romeo and Juliet" for "National Ballet of Canada, where she and her partner worked like mad to get Ratmansky to change his mind. They had the great advantage that it was Ratmansky calling the shots for his own ballet, that the whole company was focused on that one work, and that it was new, with everyone starting anew from the same place.

It's a good thing, then, that Moderators and Admins are the only one who can tell anyone what they can't say. It would be one thing if Ashton were around full time, and he could grab some dancers throughout the year and teach them roles. It's quite another to get stagers' time, stagers' who also could be teaching or cleaning up corps work that's been taught by an internal Ballet Master after the first run. That stager is responsible for getting the dancers to a certain standard, and there's rarely time to teach fourth and fifth casts to that standard. Stagers' cost money, and even if the money is there, they have busy schedules. It may be depressing, but it's reality. Balanchine had pretty much full run of his company. Or actually that was Robbins, whom Balanchine often gave first dibs plus, when possible, no deadlines (ex: Goldberg Variations.") Despite this, the last half of Spring season was usually a cascade of casting changes and injuries, with some last minute debuts out of necessity, mostly in short ballets. That isn't to say that there can't be poor decisions and poor, lazy, or short-sighted planning involved. However, to assume that the only constraint is incompetence is unrealistic, given the constraints of time and money.

Are there lifts in "Ballo"? I don't remember any.

It's not the responsibility of a critic to appreciate all of the hard work that goes into a production, but to evaluate what he or she sees. While not all critics are equally perceptive, neither are all opinions equal. Some are more well-reasoned, provide more context, are based in more expertise or scholarship, etc. It is not a requirement, moral or otherwise, that an audience member appreciates anything in particular about what he or she sees. People pay their money and decide what is important to them. It's up to the reader to decide if the writing is worth its weight in pixels. For discussions of critics, we have the "Writings on Ballet" forum. For discussion of other posters, we have a rule against discussing the discussion.

To some, attributes like height and weight make a difference to how they see the role, and ballet has a long tradition of emploi. While I'm personally on the side of diversity, mine is not a universal view. We're a discussion board, not a fan board, and blanket statements are often challenged here. However, one of our board rules is that discussing the discussion is verboten.

What a lovely baby: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154790411302908&set=a.429435727907.206797.517427907&type=3&theater Welcome, Violet!

I hope the moms on the board had a happy Mothers' Day. I couldn't resist: PNB Principal Dancer and very new mom Carrie Imler with her mother and son: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10209793277455567 From Boston Ballet: https://twitter.com/BostonBallet/status/729438874783645696 From St. Louis Ballet: https://twitter.com/stlouisballet/status/729355604540555264

(Sorry you had to experience it, but I'm so glad if you had to, you shared.)

Former PNB School Faculty Bruce Wells, whose choreography for Pacific Northwest Ballet's family matinees is vastly underrated in my opinion, has choreographed "Cinderella" for Grand Rapids Ballet, and it premiered last night. It's set to a score by Johann Strauss II, who, according to this article, died before he could complete a score for "Cinderella." http://www.examiner.com/article/grand-rapids-ballet-choreographer-bruce-wells-artistic-vision-for-cinderella The approach he is taking sounds fascinating to me, as is the set design by former Principal Dancer Michael Auer. I live in hope that a Ballet Alertnik! has seen this and can report .

SPECIAL EVENTS FRIDAY PREVIEW Friday, May 20, 6:00 pm The Phelps Center, 301 Mercer St. at Seattle Center PNB’s popular Friday Previews are hour-long studio rehearsals hosted by Artistic Director Peter Boal and PNB artistic staff, featuring Company dancers rehearsing excerpts from upcoming ballets. Tickets are $12. These events usually sell out in advance. Friday Previews are sponsored by U.S. Bank. BALLET PREVIEW — FREE Tuesday, May 31, 12:00 noon Central Seattle Public Library, 1000 Fourth Avenue, Seattle Join PNB for a FREE lunch-hour preview lecture at the Central Seattle Public Library. Education Programs Manager Doug Fullington will offer insights about AMERICAN STORIES, complete with video excerpts. LECTURE SERIES & DRESS REHEARSAL Thursday, June 2, 2015 Lecture 6:00 pm, Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall Dress Rehearsal 7:00 pm, McCaw Hall Join PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal in conversation with Waiting at the Station stager Kiyon Gaines, during the hour preceding the dress rehearsal. Attend the lecture only or stay for the rehearsal. Tickets are $12 for the lecture, or $30 for the lecture and dress rehearsal. Tickets may be purchased through the PNB Box Office. PRE-PERFORMANCE LECTURES Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall Join Education Programs Manager Doug Fullington for a 30-minute introduction to each performance, including discussions of choreography, music, history, design and the process of bringing ballet to the stage. One hour before performances. FREE for ticketholders. POST-PERFORMANCE Q&A Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall Skip the post-show traffic and enjoy a Q&A with Artistic Director Peter Boal and PNB dancers, immediately following each performance. FREE for ticketholders. YOUNG PATRONS CIRCLE NIGHT Friday, June 10, 7:30 pm Join members of PNB’s Young Patrons Circle (YPC) in an exclusive lounge for complimentary wine and coffee before the show and at intermission. YPC is PNB’s social and educational group for ballet patrons ages 21 through 39. YPC members save up to 40% off their tickets. For more information, visit PNB.org and search for “YPC.” Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2015-2016 season is proudly sponsored by ArtsFund and Microsoft. Season-long sponsorship also provided by 4Culture. Schedule and programming subject to change. For further information, please visit PNB.org.

AMERICAN STORIES June 3 – 12, 2016 Marion Oliver McCaw Hall 321 Mercer Street, Seattle Center Seattle, WA 98109 Seven performances only! June 3-4, 9-11 at 7:30 pm June 4 at 2:00 pm June 12 at 1:00 pm SEATTLE, WA – For AMERICAN STORIES, the final program of its 44th season, Pacific Northwest Ballet presents a triple-bill featuring three of the world’s greatest choreographers – George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Twyla Tharp – and their distinctive takes on the American landscape. Balanchine’s homage to American folk dancing, Square Dance, is joined by Robbins’ Fancy Free (the inspiration for the musical On the Town) and, back by popular demand, Tharp’s made-for-PNB Waiting at the Station, featuring music by the late, great jazz legend Allen Toussaint. AMERICAN STORIES runs for seven performances only, June 3 through 12 at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $30. For more information, contact the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424, in person at 301 Mercer Street, or online at PNB.org. The line-up for AMERICAN STORIES will include: Fancy Free Music: Leonard Bernstein (1944; "Big Stuff" recording sung by Dee Dee Bridgewater)
 Choreography: Jerome Robbins
 Staging: Judith Fugate
 Scenic Design: Oliver Smith
 Costume Design: Kermit Love
 Costume Design Supervisor: Holly Hynes
 Original Lighting Design: Ronald Bates
 Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli
 Running Time: 29 minutes
 Premiere: April 18, 1944; Ballet Theatre (New York)
 PNB Premiere: September 21, 2006 Imagine New York on a hot summer night in 1944. Three sailors on shore leave pick up two girls and a fight breaks out over which sailor is to be left without a partner. In the bar, they stage a competition, each dancing to win the favor of a girl. When the girls are unable to choose between them, the fight resumes and the girls slip away. The sailors make up, but suddenly a third girl passes their way…. Have they learned their lesson? When Jerome Robbins’ first ballet, Fancy Free, premiered in New York on April 18, 1944, it proved to be one of the most exciting evenings in the history of ballet in America, marking the emergence of three new American talents: choreographer Jerome Robbins, composer Leonard Bernstein, and designer Oliver Smith. That same year, the ballet was transformed into the Broadway musical On the Town and established Robbins, Bernstein, and Smith as formidable talents in American theater. Robbins danced in the Fancy Free premiere with Janet Reed, one of American ballet’s favorite soubrettes, who went on to join New York City Ballet and later became Founding Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet School. [Notes by Doug Fullington.] Square Dance Music: Antonio Vivaldi (L’estro Armonica, Op. 3, No. 10, RV 580 and No. 12, RV 265) and Arcangelo Corelli (Sarabanda, Badinerie e Giga, i.e., Sonatas for Violin and Continuo, Op. 5, No. 9 [Giga] and No. 11 [Gavotta])
 Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
 Staging: Peter Boal
 Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli
 Running Time: 25 minutes
 Premiere: November 21, 1957; New York City Ballet; revised May 20, 1976
 PNB Premiere: March 5, 1981; restaged September 20, 2007 Balanchine’s Square Dance combines classical ballet, 17th-century court dance, and American country dancing. In the original 1957 production, the musicians were on stage and a square dance caller was brought in to call out the steps. Balanchine revived Square Dance in 1976, dispensing with the caller, putting the orchestra in the pit, and adding a celebrated solo for the principal male dancer. Writing about Square Dance, Balanchine explained, “Ballet and other forms of dance of course can be traced back to folk dance. I have always liked watching American folk dances, especially in my trips to the West, and it occurred to me that it would be possible to combine these two different types of dance, the folk and the classic, in one work. To show how close the two really are, we chose old music also based on ancient dances. The spirit and nerve required for superb dancing are close to what we always want in ballet performances, which is one way perhaps of explaining why so many American dancers are so gifted. The invention, its superb preparation for risks, and its high spirits are some of the things I was trying to show in this ballet.” [Notes by Marsha Bennion and Doug Fullington.] Waiting at the Station Music: Allen Toussaint (“Let’s,” “Bright Mississippi,” “Dolores’ Boyfriend,” “Mother-in-Law,” “Don’t Go To Sleep,” “Fas-Fess,” “I Miss You Baby,” “The Mardi Gras Stomp,” “Waiting at the Station”)
 Choreography: Twyla Tharp
 Scenic and Costume Design: Santo Loquasto
 Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls
 Assistant to the Choreographer: Kiyon Gaines
 Running Time: 32 minutes 
Premiere: September 27, 2013; Pacific Northwest Ballet Waiting at the Station is a short narrative ballet set to a collection of compositions – both old and new – by R&B artist Allen Toussaint. Scenic and costume designs by Santo Loquasto set the scene in 1940s New Orleans. The story follows one man as he attempts to connect with his son and pass on his steps before he must surrender to the three gilded Fates that seek him out. The ensemble dances upstage for much of the work. They are a living frieze, providing background rhythm and dramatic tableau as two couples gambol, waltz, spar and swing through a sampling of society’s many small conflicts. After the Father dances his goodbyes and recedes upstage with the three Fates, his Son leads the jazz funeral procession, a celebration of both life and death through music and dance. An epilogue follows, wherein the Father returns briefly to tidy a few loose ends and conduct the finale before boarding his last train. Apart from her own, Tharp has developed long working relationships with three dance companies over the course of her career; Pacific Northwest Ballet is one of these. After seven years of repertory and two prior commissions, artistic director Peter Boal approached Tharp to create a third piece for the company in 2013: Waiting at the Station anchored an all-Tharp program that included Nine Sinatra Songs and the Seattle premiere of Brief Fling. [Notes courtesy of Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation.]

Occasionally a dancer will talk about how an AD kept them on the roster for a year or two when struggling with injury, but the only long-time Principal Dancer that I know where it's been documented -- by herself and other -- that she was kept on the payroll because she needed the money was Allegra Kent.

Carrie Imler had a baby boy -- she posted a public-facing photo to her Facebook page dated April 28, 2016 at 10:20pm! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10209720291910974&set=a.2887328789239.152276.1440770522&type=3&theater Congratulations to the Millers

Well those three better not get any ideas...

Retired Principal Dancer Aleksandar Antonijevic has a show of his photography for a two-year project that will open May 5 and run through June 9 at Berenson Fine Art in Toronto. The CBC did a story on it: I didn't get to see NBoC often, but I visited Vancouver when Rex Harrington was doing his farewell tour, which featured James Kudelka's "Four Seasons." In the performance I saw Antonijevic danced the main role, and he was glorious. I wish I were going to be in Toronto during the run of this show.