Helene

Good for her! Fadeley and her husband, Francis Veyette, were the subject of a two-part Balancing Pointe podcast http://balancing-pointe.com/74-francis-lauren-fadeley-veyette-principal-dancers-pennsylvania-ballet-part-one/ http://balancing-pointe.com/74-francis-lauren-fadeley-veyette-principal-dancers-pennsylvania-ballet-part-two/ and Fadeley was featured on Barry Kerollis' first Core-ography episode: Lourdes Lopez is making some very fine choices for MCB.

The PA Ballet board has gotten what they deserve.

We have reached our goal for 2016 a bit earlier than usual, because we realized we were a little late in starting this year and would like to launch at our more usual February time, and, as a result, reduced our goal by a few months. We'd like to thank everyone who supported us so generously -- :flowers: : we wouldn't be here without you. We also thank everyone who has contributed by purchasing through the amazon.com box at the bottom of each page.

A video about three young girls in the "Hours" corps:

We've had a very generous response from our and BT4D's members, for which we are very grateful. We are going into our last push, and hope to wrap this up by the end of this week.

I never realized before the demands on the Swanhilde for hops on points, especially in the scene where "Coppelia" comes to life. Leta Biasucci must have ankles of steel. She was splendid.

This is the link to iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pas-chat-talking-dance-barry/id1103498953 From here there is a link to the iTunes store, where you can subscribe to this free podcast.

Here is the link to "Pas de Chat: Talking Dance" in iTunes. If you "View in iTunes" from this link, there will be an option to "Subscribe," as well as to rank and rate the podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pas-chat-talking-dance-barry/id1103498953

TICKETS & INFORMATION Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Season Encore Performance will be performed one night only, Sunday, June 12 at 6:30 pm at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer Street at Seattle Center. Tickets range in price from $30 to $180 (PNB subscribers receive 20% off) and may be purchased through the PNB Box Office: · By calling 206.441.2424 (Mon.-Fri. 10am–6pm; Sat. 10am–5pm) · In person at 301 Mercer Street, Seattle (Mon.-Fri. 10am–6pm; Sat. 10am–5pm) · Online 24/7 at our website, pnb.org · 90 minutes prior to the performance at McCaw Hall, subject to availability. Please Note: No student/senior rush tickets or Teen Tix discounts are available for this performance. ABOUT THE ARTIST Kylee Kitchens is from Laguna Hills, California. She trained at Westside Ballet Academy, where she studied with Yvonne Mounsey and Rosemary Valaire, and on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She joined PNB as a member of the corps de ballet in 2000 and was promoted to soloist in 2012. Ms. Kitchens has performed leading roles in George Balanchine’s Agon, Apollo, Coppélia (Prayer), Divertimento No. 15, Emeralds, The Four Temperaments, A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream (Titania, Helena), George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy, Arabian, Dewdrop), and Serenade; Peter Boal’s Giselle (Moyna); Val Caniparoli’s The Seasons; Merce Cunningham’s Inlets 2; David Dawson’s A Million Kisses to My Skin; Ulysses Dove’s Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven, Serious Pleasures and Vespers; Nacho Duato’s Jardí Tancat; Kiyon Gaines’ Sum Stravinsky; Paul Gibson’s Sense of Doubt and The Piano Dance; Jiri Kylian’s Forgotten Land, Petite Mort, and Sechs Tänze (Six Dances); Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette (Rosaline); Mark Morris’ A Garden, Kammermusik No. 3, and Pacific; Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Cylindrical Shadows; Crystal Pite’s Emergence; Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun, The Concert, and Fancy Free; Kent Stowell’s Cinderella (Fairy Godmother), Firebird, Nutcracker (Clara, Flora, Peacock), Quaternary, Silver Lining, and Swan Lake (Pas de trois, Persian Dance); Twyla Tharp’s Brief Fling, In the Upper Room, and Opus 111; and Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain pas de deux and Polyphonia. She originated a leading role in Margaret Mullin’s Lost in Light, and in 2003, Lynne Taylor-Corbett re-choreographed the second movement of Mercury for Ms. Kitchens. She has also been featured in Balanchine’s Apollo, Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, Diamonds, and La Valse; Trisha Brown’s Spanish Dance; William Forsythe’s Artifact II; Ronald Hynd’s The Sleeping Beauty (White Cat); Peter Martins’ Fearful Symmetries; Marius Petipa’s Paquita; Kent Stowell’s Carmina Burana and Cinderella, and The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet; and Christopher Wheeldon’s Carousel (A Dance). Ms. Kitchens danced in the BBC’s 1999 film version of PNB’s production of Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, filmed at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London. In 2005, she performed Petipa’s Paquita as a guest artist with Los Angeles Ballet.

From the press release: PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET PRESENTS ITS 2015-2016 Season Encore Performance Performance to include works by Balanchine, Cerrudo, Lang, Peck, and more!Featuring the mighty PNB Orchestra. Bon voyage performances of company dancers Kylee Kitchens and Jessika Anspach. ONE NIGHT ONLY! Sunday, June 12, 2016 – 6:30 pm Marion Oliver McCaw Hall 321 Mercer Street, Seattle Center Seattle, WA 98109 SEATTLE, WA – The curtain comes down on Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 43rd season with its annual Season Encore Performance, a crowd-pleasing reprise of some of PNB’s greatest hits. An evening of thrilling selections and inspired performances, the program will feature PNB’s entire Company, along with the world famous PNB Orchestra under the baton of Music Director/Principal Conductor Emil de Cou. Highlights of the evening will include reprises of two of this season’s most popular works, Alejandro Cerrudo’s Little mortal jump, and Jessica Lang’s The Calling. Other selections for the evening include excerpts from George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™, Price Suddarth’s world premiere Signature, and Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit, among others. The evening also celebrates the careers of PNB’s departing dancers: In addition to the previously announced retirement of corps de ballet member Jessika Anspach, the Season Encore performance will also be the audience’s chance to offer a fond farewell to soloist Kylee Kitchens. The Season Encore Performance will be presented one night only, Sunday, June 12 at 6:30 pm at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer Street. Tickets may be purchased exclusively through the PNB Box Office (206.441.2424, online at PNB.org, or in person at 301 Mercer Street at Seattle Center.) “We are pleased to pay tribute to two longstanding members of the Company with this year’s Season Encore performance,” said PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal. “We are also afforded an opportunity to look back at favorite works from the past season and savor them for the last time. With too many triumphs to include, I’m forced to pick a few highlights. From Clara’s new dress to Price’s new Signature, this was a season to remember. World premieres, company premieres, and role debuts plus Jessika and Kylee’s poignant farewell performances will make for one of the most exciting and emotional nights of the year.” “I dreamt of joining PNB ever since I was 11 years old, when I went to see the company perform Cinderella near my hometown in California,” said Ms. Kitchens, when announcing her retirement. “That dream was realized when Kent Stowell and Francia Russell hired me from the professional division at PNB School and I have had the honor of dancing with this incredible company for the past 16 years. I have come to a point in my life where I feel it is time to end this career which I have been so fortunate to have. I will carry with me so many unforgettable moments on stage and in the studios. I have had the privilege of dancing and working with this extraordinary group of people, and I have been and will continue to be inspired by so many of these wonderful artists. While I'll be stepping off of the stage I'll be stepping into a new adventure with my son Simon and husband Steve. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart to everyone who has supported me and this beloved company of mine.” “Kylee has brought true elegance and quiet power to our stage for over 16 years,” continued Mr. Boal. “She arrived in our Professional Division in 1998 and quickly caught the eye of Francia Russell. I was proud to promote Kylee to soloist in 2012. Though she might be pegged for more lyrical roles, Kylee has never shied away from a challenge evidenced in her fearless attack in Ulysses Dove’s Vespers and her mastery of the fluid contusions of Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort. She proved herself a true comedienne in Jerome Robbins’ The Concert and Kylian’s Sechs Tanze, and I will not forget her Jardí Tancat or her seductress in Afternoon of a Faun. Kylee was a mainstay of the corps for many years, but watching the inner artist bloom over the past few years has yielded true rewards for all of us. She will be missed, but not by son Simon, who now gets to see quite a bit more of his leading lady.” (See below for further information.) The line-up for the 2015-2016 Season Encore Performance includes: After the Rain pas de deux Music: Arvo Pärt Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon The Calling Music: Anonymous, 12th-13th century Choreography: Jessica Lang Little mortal jump Music: Beirut, Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire, Desplat, Glass, Richter, Waits, Brennan Choreography: Alejandro Cerrudo Mozartiana (excerpt) Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ (excerpt) Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust Signature (excerpt) Music: Barret Anspach Choreography: Price Suddarth Sum Stravinsky (excerpt) Music: Igor Stravinsky Choreography: Kiyon Gaines Waiting at the Station (excerpt) Music: Allen Toussaint Choreography: Twyla Tharp Year of the Rabbit (excerpt) Music: Sufjan Stevens Choreography: Justin Peck

Here is a short excerpt danced by Leta Biasucci from PNB's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PNBallet/videos/vb.21358443951/10153753362083952/ Casting for Week 2 is up: https://www.pnb.org/season/15-16/coppelia/ Here's the spreadsheet: 2015-16 Coppelia Weeks 1 and 2.xlsx Debuts for Week 2 are Emma Love Suddarth as Prayer, Steven Loch in War and Discard, and Sarah Pasch as Dawn.

Barry Kerollis just launched a podcast, "Pas de Chat: Talking Dance.". The first episode is up, and there will be five more before it becomes a regular Friday feature on the Balancing Pointe. To listen from balancing a points.com:http://balancing-pointe.com/pas-de-chat-podcast/ Or you can find it on iTunes. (See link below.)

Barry Kerollis, former Houston Ballet and PNB dancer -- whose dancing I still miss -- and who launched a career as a freelance dancer, choreographer, and teacher and writes a great blog, Life of a Freelance Dancer, just started a podcast, "Pas de Chat: Talking Dance," hosted on Kimberly Falker's Balancing Pointe. The first segment is now up: http://balancing-pointe.com/pas-de-chat-podcast/ It's also available on iTunes. There will be five more episodes in the coming week, and then it will become a weekly Friday segment. Readers of Barry's blog know how straightforward and forthcoming he is, and I expect the podcasts to be no less so.

Dr. Melissa Klapper, Professor of History at Rowan University, is now hosting a monthly segment on The Balancing Pointe Podcast in which she will explore a variety of topics on ballet schooling in American history. For many of us, ballet in America meant tours of the Ballets Russes and visiting dancers from Russia and Europe, with a few Smith-ovas thrown in, but the history is far more rich. I, for one, took the existence of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet for granted and as a place for Balanchine to swoop in, much like Mark Morris at the Monnaie Theatre, never thinking about why it was established in the first place and who was responsible for it. In the first episode, Klapper talks about the genesis of ballet schools in the US; the history of ballet class is the subject of a book she is writing. I found this episode delightful, and I wanted to bring it to Ballet Alertniks' attention: http://balancing-pointe.com/181-pirouettes-past-professor-melissa-klapper/

We're about halfway there, and we've received very generous support, much of it from long-time supporters. We hope we can make this a short one: we'll stop asking when we reach our goal to take us through the beginning of 2017 with your help. We also would like to recognize the people who support our site by using the amazon.com search box at the bottom of each page. We receive a small but vital commission on all sales that start from the search boxes on Ballet Alert! and Ballet Talk for Dancers. That is revenue that allows us to stop nagging earlier

Congratulations to the Hodgkinson - Lavigne family!

Benjamin Griffiths joined PNB in 2005, which was Peter Boal's first season. I'm certain I've heard him say in Q&A's that he came to PNB because his teacher at SAB, Boal, was AD. He had been dancing with Boston Ballet. On the whole, there's more work for women in the corps, and especially in the full-length rep. Even in the Balanchine ballets with big corps, a 1:1 match, like in "Stravinsky Violin Concerto" and "Tombeau de Couperin," is rare.

Soloist Joshua Grant was originally hired by Russell and Stowell in 2001. He left PNB in 2004, and Peter Boal hired him back into the company in 2011.

I haven't seen Abrera in a lead role, but from a wide range of sources, I think that while Abrera has been underused, I conclude that she has the technique and range to dance any classical role. One of my ballet hates is strict typecasting. Looking back at some of the best performances I've seen, they were danced not by the alleged "A List" dancers, and the same goes with opera.

Sadly, LA Fille suffers from the same disrespect that most comedies face, with few exceptions, like Marriage of Figaro and The Importance of Being Earnest. It's exquisitely crafted, but no one dies.

I'm really glad that she's still a great draw in light of scepticism that as soon as the Principal question was resolved that interest in her dancing would die.

According to the Goldstar site they take a 5% commission on tickets: https://www.goldstar.com/company/supplier_details The other way they make money is through the fees and membership in Red Velvet, which offers comps and other benefits. The link describes their purpose and approach. They don't mention this, but I think it's important to note that they enable the loyal audience to stretch its incremental dollars to see more performances, and, frankly, seeing two butts in seats instead of one is good for perception in general. I hate seeing empty seats. I pay subscription prices and get subscriber discounts where available and I'm a donor, and I don't care what the person next to me paid, as long as they're quiet, don't wear heavy scent, or block my view.

Welcome to Ballet Alert!, JumpFrog Balanchine asked Alexandra Danilova, a renowned Swanhilde, to help him stage the three-act version. The first two acts are based on what they remembered from the Russian Imperial Ballet and, for Danilova, the Ballets Russes. Balanchine created a first act solo for Franz, originally danced by Helgi Tomasson, to music from Delibes' "Sylvia," a gorgeous score, and ensemble dances. Acts I and II are "after Petipa." The third act is Balanchine's original choreography for the Wedding, with a female soloist with a corps of 24 students, three female solos, War and Discord for eight couples and a lead couple, and a grand pas de deux for Swanhilde and Frantz. It's a lovely work, with beautiful sets and costumes by Roberta Guidi di Bagno. The stagers are Judith Fugate, a great NYCB Swanhilde, and Garielle Whittle, a long-time ballet mistress for children at NYCB.

Welcome to Ballet Alert!, JumpFrog Balanchine asked Alexandra Danilova, a renowned Swanhilde, to help him stage the three-act version. The first two acts are based on what they remembered from the Russian Imperial Ballet and, for Danilova, the Ballets Russes. Balanchine created a first act solo for Franz, originally danced by Helgi Tomasson, to music from Delibes' "Sylvia," a gorgeous score, and ensemble dances. Acts I and II are "after Petipa." The third act is Balanchine's original choreography for the Wedding, with a female soloist with a corps of 24 students, three female solos, War and Discord for eight couples and a lead couple, and a grand pas de deux for Swanhilde and Frantz. It's a lovely work, with beautiful sets and costumes by Roberta Guidi di Bagno. The stagers are Judith Fugate, a great NYCB Swanhilde, and Garielle Whittle, a long-time ballet mistress for children at NYCB.

Principal casting for Week 1 is up on the website: https://www.pnb.org/season/15-16/coppelia/ Casting is always subject to change. Rachel Foster is listed as one of the dancers in this Friday's coaching rehearsal, but she's not listed in the casting. I know she danced Swanhilde, at least in the first run, and she also led "Waltz of the Golden Hours." The Swanhilde/Frantz couples are: Lesley Rausch/Jerome Tisserand Leta Biasucci/Benjamin Griffiths Noelani Pantastico (debut)/Jonathan Porretta Debuts in other lead roles are: Ryan Cardea as Dr. Coppelius Margaret Mullin and Angelica Generosa in "Dance of the Golden Hours" Leah Merchant as Prayer Noelani Pantastico as Spinner Elizabeth Murphy (with Karel Cruz) and Sarah Ricard Orza/Joshua Grant in "War and Discord" Also notable is that Jessika Anspach, who is retiring at the end of this season, also dances Spinner at the Saturday, 16 April matinee. Here is the spreadsheet: 2015-16 Coppelia Week 1.xlsx