Helene

The preview for Shira Lanyi, former PD of Richmond Ballet and Israel Ballet; the episode launches November 1: Barry Kerollis "Choreographer's Corner" v-log on his background and the project:

Mark Morris Dance Group veteran Maile Okamura has a new daughter named Mimi: https://www.facebook.com/MarkMorrisDanceGroup/photos/a.173367966013111.48785.165136740169567/1206157712734126/?type=3&theater :flowers:

Or she feels that the prep needed for them is not where she wants to expend her energy. Dancers speak about how modern/contemporary work uses different muscles and mixing classical ballet with contemporary rep can make them more prone to injury. She's at a point in her career where she can pick and choose and do what interests and fulfills her.

The first time I was scheduled to see "Serenade" at NYCB it was the closer. I had already made plans to meet someone that day and left at intermission. I only remember because it seemed like I'd never see it, always having had a conflict, and had it been the opener or middle piece, I wouldn't have missed it. But from later experience, that was unusual placement.

Ticket Contest: Five winners for a pair of tickets to "Emergence" on November 12 at 7:30pm -- entry deadline is Wednesday, October 28 at midnight: https://www.pnb.org/win/emergence/ Videos: From instagram (short), William Lin-Yee in "Sum Stravinsky": https://instagram.com/p/9Tk1l1meq4/ More "Sum Stravinsky": https://instagram.com/p/9EYnihmeix/ "Emergence" trailer (<3):

More stuff: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ Student Matinees (for groups of 15 or more) Friday, Dec. 4 at 12:00 pm, Thursday, Dec. 10 at 12:00 pm and Friday, Dec. 11 at 12:00 pm PNB offers three student matinees of the full two-hour performance of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™. Join us for the PNB Premiere of this classic ballet and make a new holiday tradition! Student matinees feature the PNB Orchestra. More Information. Here's a photo of the Orza's daughter Lola May in front of "The Nutcracker" poster featuring Elizabeth Murphy as the Sugar Plum Fairy: it's the finished tutu that Pantastico was fitted for in the instagram photo above, which was sans decoration: https://twitter.com/PNBallet/status/658306039817760769 Ticket Contest: There's an Alaska Airlines "Nutcracker" contest. Prizes are two travel vouchers on Alaska Air (or Sky West Air), with a bunch of published restrictions, plus a pair of "Nutcracker" tickets for one winner, and a pair of "Nutcracker" tickets for five more winners. Tickets are for the 5:30pm performance on November 29, and the deadline for entry is November 15 at midnight: https://www.pnb.org/win/alaska/

Very important: The show must go on! Pacific Northwest Ballet is committed to honoring its performance calendar. Performances will not be cancelled for any reason: weather, swine flu, Mercer traffic, etc. All ticket sales are final and there are no refunds or exchanges. In the unlikely event that the status of a performance does change, an announcement will be posted on PNB.org.

More special events have been added to some listed above: Dancing The Nutcracker Tuesday, November 17, 5:30 pm Watch PNB Company dancers rehearsing excerpts from The Nutcracker while learning about the close ties Balanchine’s production shares with the 1892 St. Petersburg original. With James Moore, Noelani Pantastico, Kyle Davis, and Angelica Generosa. Tickets ($40) are available through the PNB Box Office, 206.441.2424 or online at PNB.org. Opening Weekend Festivities Celebrate the premiere of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ and kick off the start of the holiday season with crafts and activities, magicians, dance classes, and – of course – Almond Roca. Free with admission. Listen to the Ballet PNB partners with Classical KING FM 98.1 to bring listeners some of history’s most popular ballet scores, featuring the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra direct from McCaw Hall. Tune in for a live broadcast of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ on Saturday, December 5 at 7:30 pm. Only on KING FM, 98.1 fm or online at KING.org/listen. See the Ballet…and Play the Instruments Classical KING FM 98.1, in collaboration with Music Center Northwest, will host their ever-popular Instrument Petting Zoo at The Nutcracker matinees on December 5, 6, 12, 13 and 19, as well as the 5:30 performance on December 6. Stop by and get a feel for the instruments that make Tchaikovsky’s beautiful score come to life! Free with admission. Teddy Bear Clinics Calling all kids! Bring your favorite teddy bear, doll, or toy for a check-up at Swedish Pediatrics’ Teddy Bear Clinic. Diagnose imaginary ailments with stethoscopes and otoscopes and bandage it all better. At the 1:00 matinees on Sunday, December 13 and Saturday, December 26. Free with admission. Nutcracker Suites at McCaw Skip the lines and bustle of the lobby at intermission! Treat you and yours to an enchanted intermission experience in the SAVOR…McCaw Hall Nutcracker Suite. The Nutcracker Suite takes the stress out of intermission and adds to the memorable wonder of your day at the ballet. There’s a range of activities awaiting you: a self-service candy station, hot cider and cocoa with marshmallows and toppings, swords and crowns for snap-your-own pictures, a light appetizer buffet by Executive Chef Shawn Applin, and coffee, Prosecco, wine and beer for adults. Nutcracker Suites are $30 per person (includes applicable tax and service charge); performance tickets sold separately. To purchase, visit PNB.org/NutcrackerSuites. Nutcracker Tea Saturday, December 5 following the 2pm matinee performance Don’t miss the opportunity to be a part of the holiday magic: You and your little ones will join friends from the Land of Sweets in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ for an exclusive reception after the show. Enjoy a buffet of kid-friendly snacks and sweets, while collecting autographs from the Sugar Plum Fairy, Arabian Coffee, Spanish Hot Chocolate, and all your favorite characters, on your very own keepsake poster. Tickets ($45/child and $65/adult) are available through the PNB Box Office, 206.441.2424 or PNB.org. Performance tickets sold separately. FAQs for PNB Kids Visit PNB.org/Community/PNB-Kids for helpful hints and frequently asked questions about attending the ballet with children.

Back to the press release: FUN FACTS & FIGURES ABOUT PNB’s NEW PRODUCTION 99.97% of PNB’s new production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ was built entirely by artisans, craftspeople, carpenters, painters, and animators in Seattle, WA. Over 50 drapers, stitchers, first hands, milliners, dyers and painters have built the new costumes. PNB’s shop was not large enough to accommodate the number of costumers required, so some of the costumes were constructed at the Seattle Children’s Theater and Seattle Repertory Theatre costume shops. There are 154 costumes in the show, not counting duplicates (i.e., multiple versions of the same costume, for different-sized dancers playing the same role – Sugar Plum Fairy, Cavalier, Dewdrop, etc.) There are 174 velvet diamonds and 322 jewels on the Harlequin costume. 640: Black pompoms on the eight Polichinelle costumes. 697: Petals on the Waltz of the Flowers costumes. 10 feet and 60 pounds: The width and weight of Mother Ginger’s skirt. 175: Number of snaps on the Mother Ginger costume. 4,000: Holes cut by hand to create the lace “doily” tutus and headpieces for the Marzipan costumes. 300: Jewels hand-sewn on the two Arabian (peacock) headpieces. 500: Yards of tubular horsehair used for the Party Mothers’ hairpieces. 1,428: Cabochons sewn onto the Spanish women’s costumes. 2,568: Appliques machine-sewn on the seven Spanish dresses. 35 men and women in the PNB Scene shop built and painted the sets and props. Construction began in July of 2014. There are 22 painted drops. 3,000 square yards of fabric were used in the creation of the scenery. 343 gallons of paint were used in the painting of the scenery. The corridor scrim at the top of the show depicts Nutcracker historical figures Alexander Dumas, E.T.A. Hoffman, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, George Balanchine, and Lincoln Kirstein. An actual walnut was used to model the construction and painting of the Nut Boat. It took 400 hours to build the Christmas tree. At its full height it stands 40 feet. There are 450 lights on it. 30 cubic feet of “snow” will be deployed during the Act I Snow scene, per performance. The animated video that accompanies The Nutcracker overture was created by Straightface Studios located in the Interbay neighborhood of Seattle. Production on the 3d animated work began in June 2015: The finished product features over 200,000 frames rendered on approximately two dozen computers. (It would take 600 days of rendering on one computer.) The town in the video is inspired by antique mid-19th Century maps and satellite images of New England. The terrain covers 372 square miles. There are over 1.5 million trees, 8,540 bushes, 287 buildings, and seven mice in the 3d animation. Speaking of mice: Seventeen mice (eight adult mice, eight young mice, and the seven-headed Mouse King) have been built by Erik Andor and a team of fabricators in his Pioneer Square studio. 98 yards of “fur” have been used to create the mice. They have a total of 230 whiskers. Each adult tail consists of 25 segments. Each ear is made up of six pieces. Laid end-to-end, the mice’s upper lips total 782 inches. For more information, visit encoreartsseattle.com/making-mice-erik-andor And finally: Amusements Gift Shop at McCaw Hall has stocked its counters and shelves with 15,300 ornaments, 1,400 nutcrackers, 4,400 plush dolls, 1,000 posters, 300 tiaras and 120 tutus for shoppers attending the show.

Press release continued: And PNB is honored and excited to announce that the prominent Christmas star that appears at the end of Act I will be presented by renowned artist Dale Chihuly. Winter Star, a spectacular work of art from Chihuly’s popular Chandelier series, will make a stunning addition to the famed Snow scene. With significant historical provenance, Winter Star debuted as part of the artist’s iconic Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem 2000 exhibition, and has also been exhibited at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (near London) and New York Botanical Garden. ------ PNB re-tweeted the Chihuly Studio's tweet with photo of "Winter Star": https://twitter.com/ChihulyStudio/status/659132369652338688

A new press release with more info: SEATTLE, WA – A new holiday tradition comes to Seattle! Pacific Northwest Ballet is excited to premiere the centerpiece of its 2015/2016 season, a sparkling new production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ featuring eye-popping colorful sets and costumes designed by author/illustrator Ian Falconer (Olivia the Pig). PNB’s new production features Tchaikovsky’s timeless score performed live by the mighty PNB Orchestra, and the beloved story of Clara, her Nutcracker prince, and a magical journey to delight audiences both young and old. PNB’s new production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ premieres at Seattle Center’s McCaw Hall for 36 performances November 27 through December 28, 2015. Tickets may be purchased through the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424, online at PNB.org, or in person at 301 Mercer St. (Don’t get duped this holiday season: Be mindful of unauthorized third-party online ticket resellers when ordering tickets for PNB’s production of The Nutcracker.) “George Balanchine’s timeless production of The Nutcracker was my introduction to the wonders of ballet when I was just five years old,” said PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal. “I remember it like it was only yesterday; the mighty mouse king, the towering tree, and the delicious Land of Sweets. The magic of this ballet was evident from that moment. As a ten-year-old boy, I stepped onto the stage for the first time as a member of the cast. To be able to present this new production is a true honor and a dream come true. Watching our talented dancers perform Balanchine's singular, enchanting choreography, seeing the exquisite craftsmanship of PNB’s artists in Ian Falconer's whimsical designs, and hearing Tchaikovsky's magnificent score in the hands of our incomparable PNB Orchestra is a triumph for all of us. I am so proud of PNB’s splendid new holiday tradition.” ABOUT THE ARTISTS Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, George Balanchine (choreography) is regarded as the foremost contemporary ballet choreographer in the world. He came to the United States in 1933 at the invitation of American arts patron Lincoln Kirstein (1907-96). The School of American Ballet was founded in 1934, the first product of the Balanchine-Kirstein collaboration, and several ballet companies directed by the two were created and dissolved in the years that followed. On October 11, 1948, New York City Ballet was born, and Mr. Balanchine served as its ballet master and principal choreographer until his death. His more than 400 dance works include Serenade (1934), Concerto Barocco (1941), Le Palais de Cristal, later renamed Symphony in C (1947), The Nutcracker (1954), Agon (1957), Symphony in Three Movements (1972), Stravinsky Violin Concerto (1972), and Vienna Waltzes (1977). He also choreographed for films, operas, revues, and musicals. Among his best-known dances for the stage is Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, originally created for Broadway’s On Your Toes (1936). A major artistic figure of the twentieth century, Mr. Balanchine revolutionized the look of classical ballet. He quickened, expanded, streamlined, and inverted the fundamentals of the 400-year-old language of academic dance. Although at first his style seemed particularly suited to the energy and speed of American dancers, especially those he trained, his ballets are now performed by every major classical ballet company in the world. Ian Falconer (scenic and costume design) is an American illustrator, children's book author, and costume and set designer for the theater. Born in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Mr. Falconer graduated from The Cambridge School of Weston, and went on to study painting at the Parsons School of Design and Otis Art Institute. He has created 30 covers for The New Yorker as well as other publications, and is widely known for the iconic Olivia children's book series, which features a young pig and her many adventures. In the world of theater design, Mr. Falconer teamed up with artist David Hockney, collaborating on the costume designs for the Los Angeles Opera production of Tristan and Isolde (1987). He served as co-designer for sets and costumes with Mr. Hockney on the Lyric Opera's production of Turandot (1992), and designed the costumes for The Royal Opera's production of Die Frau Ohne Schatten at Covent Garden. In 1996, Mr. Falconer designed the sets for The Atlantic Theater's Off-Broadway production of The Santaland Diaries, written by David Sedaris. In 1999, he designed scenery and costumes for the Boston Ballet's production of Firebird, choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. Mr. Falconer designed scenery and costumes for Scènes de Ballet (1999), and Variations Sérieuses (2001), both choreographed by Mr. Wheeldon for New York City Ballet. In 2003, he designed sets and costumes for Stravinsky's Jeu de Cartes, choreographed by Peter Martins. In 2008, Mr. Falconer completed the set design and oversaw the installation for the operetta Veronique at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. The sets were widely hailed for their use of classic stage sets married with complex moving film images, impressing audiences with innovative theatrical optical illusions. James F. Ingalls (lighting design) studied stage management at Yale School of Drama, and went on to work as a stage manager for Yale Repertory Theatre and the Twyla Tharp Dance Company, before turning to lighting design for opera, theater, and dance. He was the Resident Lighting Designer for the American Repertory Theater from 1981-1984 and has worked frequently with theater director Peter Sellars. Mr. Ingalls’ work for dance companies includes designs for American Ballet Theatre, Dutch National Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Mark Morris Dance Group, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and San Francisco Ballet, among others. He collaborates frequently with the Wooden Floor Dancers in Santa Ana, California. Mr. Ingalls is the recipient of several Drama-Logue Awards, the Obie for sustained excellence in lighting design, and a National Theater Artist Residency Grant. SPONSOR THANKS It takes a village to create a new holiday tradition: Pacific Northwest Ballet’s production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ is made possible through the generosity of Dan & Pam Baty’s principal support, with major support provided by Patty Edwards, Carl & Renee Behnke, and Peter & Peggy Horvitz, along with donations from over 600 other individuals. PNB’s premiere of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ also receives ongoing support from its Title Sponsor Alaska Airlines, as well as Major Sponsors Snoqualmie Indian Tribe and Swedish Pediatrics, and Sleigh Sponsor Chaplin’s Bellevue Subaru. The works of George Balanchine performed by Pacific Northwest Ballet are made possible in part by The Louise Nadeau Fund.

Casting for first weekend is up. For "Sum Stravinsky," there is one couple debut in each performance, and 2 2/3 unique casts. There are three making their debuts in "The Calling," which Carla Korbes danced at Season Encores: Dylan Wald, Leah Merchant, and James Moore. There is one cast for Price Suddarth's "Signature," to music by Barrett Anspach, and it includes eight women and six men. In "Emergence" there are a smattering of debuts throughout the weekend. Among the missing from featured roles in weekend one are Principal Dancers Lindsi Dec, Rachel Foster, Carrie Imler, Seth Orza, and Jonathan Porretta. Here is the spreadsheet: Casting has changed. See below: http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/40758-emergence-november-6-7-and-12-15/?p=363237

In episode 124 of the "Balancing Pointe" podcast, Megan Fairchild interviews her sister-in-law Tiler Peck for her "Ask Megan" feature: http://balancing-pointe.com/124-ask-megan-an-exclusive-interview-with-tiler-peck-sister-to-sister-in-law/

I thought Redgrave's performance would have been equal if Mary Tyrone had been a belligerent alcoholic, not a morphine addict. Ruby Dee is my gold standard for Mary Tyrone.

I think Brian Dennehy is one of the most underrated actors today. His James Tyrone (father) in "Long Day's Journey into Night" in the early '00's is my all-time favorite theater performance. He stole the show from Vanessa Redgrave and Philip Seymour Hoffman. (Robert Sean Leonard was excellent as Edmund in a soft, understated way.)

Back when they were doing primarily Balanchine and Robbins and only Balanchine full-lengths (relatively sporadically), the closer tended to be a big ballet with a rousing finale, like "Union Jack," "Vienna Waltzes," "Stars and Stripes," "Who Cares?," "Western Symphony," "Tchaikovsky Suite No. 3" (with "Theme and Variations") or "Symphony in C." Where there might be only one intermission or one very long ballet, "Liebeslieder Walzer," "Davidsbundlertanze," "Dances at a Gathering," or "Goldberg Variations," or when Martins' ballets joined the rep, "A Schubertiade." on the somber side. (I can't remember how "Harlequinade" was programmed, or if it was done with intermission.) Hard-sell ballets were often in the middle, like "Kammermusik" and "Ives Songs." Also two short ballets were usually programmed in the middle. I think the tendency now might be to start a program to get people's post-dinner juices up. "Viscera" would fit the bill there.

They might be my choices, but I suspect Lopatkina would be the most popular choice from the Mariinsky.

Now they just need Tsiskaridze to take over the Mariinsky, and the switcharound will be complete.

In just about every "Swan Lake" I've ever seen, the Valse Bluette is used in Act II, often for the big swans, and Act II ends with Odile turning back into a swan and von Rothbart blocks Odette from following her.

None of what sandik mentioned is ballet. People like what they like. There's no obligation for ballet lovers to love modern dance, although many of us do, and early on, modern dance lovers made it an ethical/political stand not to like ballet. Then there are the perpetual questions whether regardless of what one thinks about modern dance, do ballet dancers do modern dance justice and should ballet companies allocate their limited resources to preset modern dance.

When I saw NYCB do "Act II, Swan Lake," it was advertised that way. Calling it "Swan Lake" would be confusing to people who don't know ballet and wouldn't know that it is a full-length ballet. To those who do know, "Swan Lake" plus other ballets would be a very, very long evening, and I would be curious if I had never heard of the Balanchine version. I found something else interesting in the Balanchine catalog, entry 75, from the 1920's: I remember noticing this, even though I perused my (hard) copy of "Choreography by Balanchine" many, many times. I didn't realize that Diaghilev presented "Swan Lake" this way and that this is where Balanchine would have seen it performed in a single act.

The big mime, almost as central as the Mother's Mime in "Giselle," is when Odette explains to Siegfried how her mother was captured and how the lake is made from her tears. In its place, Balanchine did the same pseudo-pas de deux that we see everywhere: she runs away and flaps her wings, he captures her and spins her, she runs away again and hides under her wings, etc. The Balanchine Catalogue notes: Also, Balanchine's "Swan Lake" had been a regular part of the repertoire until Peter Martins decided that NYCB should follow the trend and could sell more tickets to his full-lengths, as most companies have been trending. It wasn't based on the artistic merits of Balanchine's one-act, which flew very well in NYC until then. In fact, it was considered a positive that instead of sitting through a different choreographer's seeming endless Act III dances and an almost always truncated and incoherent Act III, there was the best and most iconic of Ivanov, and then "Agon," or "Dances at a Gathering," "Vienna Waltzes."

Hello aelisa. You're on Ballet Alert!, which is an audience site. While there may be members who have children who are dancers, and a few dancers themselves, our sister site, Ballet Talk for Dancers, is for the do-ers. I would suggest that you write to the "Contact Us" email on BT4D to see if your query is appropriate for the board. If so, you'll need to register there separately, as we don't share member databases. www.dancers.invisionzone.com

An excerpt of Dylan Wald in Jessica Lang's "The Calling":

We can only hope.