Helene

I couldn't remember. Last year when I went I was so surprised to see one of the ticket-taking ushers that I remembered from quite a while ago, and even more surprised when he recognized me that the process didn't even register.

Simply because people support a dancer does not mean that they are against another dancer to protect their own dancer. They can like dancers for the qualities they have, and dislike dancers who don't have those qualities.

One of the basic technologies is to have a unique ID on each ticket and, when a ticket is exchanged, to de-activate the old number. That requires barcodes, so that if a de-activated ticket is scanned, it can be rejected. Is NYCB scanning tickets these days?

We've gone live with our fundraiser after overcoming a series of obstacles when we found we needed to change payment processors. We've returned to PayPal, but the good news is that you don't have to have a PayPal account to donate using a credit card. PayPal will capture your credit card information for the transaction only, and if the help desk phone tree for First Data is any indication, First Data will end up doing the underlying processing anyway. You also will be able to set the amount without having to choose from a small number of preset options. Our suggested donation is $20, but we appreciate any support you give us. If you are an active member of both sites, your donation covers both. Detailed instructions for credit cards donations are here: http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/36837-supporting-ballet-alert-and-ballet-talk-for-dancers/?p=353989 The address to send checks if you choose is here: http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/36837-supporting-ballet-alert-and-ballet-talk-for-dancers/?p=315527 We thank you for your support, and we'll close the fundraiser as soon as we reach our target of a year's operating expenses. This year we were lucky that amazon.com commissions were higher-than-expected and that early response via checks was enough to allow us to operate while we figured out and set-up an alternative for credit card processing. And we thank everyone who supports us by using the amazon.com box on both sites and zazzle on Ballet Talk for Dancers.

I think it depends on how direct a person is. The elevator test can to a useful technique to step back and review whether what's written is well-reasoned, proportionate, and adds anything to the discussion. I think a more important standard is whether you would post the exact thing if you were posting under your full real name, rather than behind the selective anonymity of the internet.

Barry Kerollis just launched a new dance storytelling project: http://www.phillymag.com/g-philly/2015/05/13/local-dancer-and-choreographer-launches-global-dance-storytelling-project/

I think that Anna Netrebko, a trained opera singer, is a closer analogy on the artistic side. (Back in the day, maybe Leonie Rysanek or Zinka Milanov.) You can read pages and pages about her technical faults, often venomous, with implied and direct accusations against anyone who likes her performances and/or singing as being the reason that the art form is at the brink of death. The only reasons, the arguments go, that she's cast, are her beautiful face, her telegenic looks, her "protector" Gergiev, her "discovered scrubbing floors at the Mariinsky Theatre" story (It was her work-study job), and her box office appeal among stupid people who are tone deaf and have drunk the Peter Gelb koolaid. There are many people who love her. There are many people who love her despite her technical flaws. There are people who think there's more to live theater than technique and that the trade-offs are worth it. There are people who are moved by her performances. Unlike at the ballet, where the audience can choose among many leads, it's rare for an audience at the Met to have more than two principal cast changes. If you don't like Netrebko's Lady Macbeth, you have to wait until it's revived again and hope someone else is cast. It's pretty easy to avoid Copeland if you don't want to see her. Especially when she sells out a house like in DC and tickets are hard to come by.

Vishneva and Semionova are Principal Dancers at ABT, as is Bolle. Vishneva has been a Principal for a decade. They are not guest stars, however limited their performances are. I wish there were smaller, financially viable theaters that were more conducive to the intimacy of the heritage rep. I remember when War Memorial was being retrofitted to withstand earthquakes and SFB performed in two small venues, the theater near the old Exploratorium and Yerba Buena. It was a financial mess, although that's to be expected when a company has to leave a more conventional space, but we saw a lot of mixed rep in the right size space. I only would see a work like "Pillar" or "Lilac Garden" at the Met if I were willing to spend the entire budget on a ticket close enough to see its impact. At least with T&V, the patterns are interesting enough from Dress Circle or higher. I'd rather go to NYPL and watch the Cynthia Gregory tape.

New York City Ballet has a substantial number of children in its rep: off the top of my head, I'd list Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Coppelia, Harlequinade, Circus Polka, There are also the four girls in Mozartiana and the Costermonger kids. I don't know Martins full-lengths aside from The Sleeping Beauty, and I can't remember if there are child pages in the Christening scene, but there are kids in the Garland Dance, which was Balanchine's, and there's the brilliant Little Red Riding Hood divertissement in the Wedding Act.

[Admin sledgehammer on] Rumors are not allowed on Ballet Alert!. Period. Official news only. We don't care if you've read the rules that you say you've read when you registered for the site. We enforce the rules as if you had. Agendas are not allowed, either. [Admin sledgehammer off]

DanceTabs published a media release from Australian Ballet announcing that Juliet Burnett is leaving Australian Ballet after 12 years with the company: http://dancetabs.com/2015/05/the-australian-ballet-farewells-senior-artist-juliet-burnett/

As noted in the Ballet News and Issues forum, New York Theatre Ballet received $15K to perform Jerome Robbins' "Antique Epigraphs," to be staged by Kyra Nichols.

For the 2015 Fundraiser, we will once again be using PayPal. However, PayPal accounts are no longer needed: there is the option to enter credit card details directly to PayPal for processing without having or using an account.

Slawomir (the dad) Wozniak has renamed his company the Phoenix Ballet. It's currently comprised of students and volunteers: http://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/arts/2015/05/12/phoenix-ballet-mixes-classical-discipline-reality-tv-flair/27121993/ They will perform four works on Saturday, May 16 at 7pm and on Sunday, May 17 at 2pm at the Mesa Arts Center.

New York Theatre Ballet has received an NEA grant to present Jerome Robbins' "Antique Epigraphs." Kyra Nichols, one of the original cast, will stage it. The premiere is set for February 2016 at New York Live Arts. Here is the announcement: The National Endowment of the Arts has awarded New York Theatre Ballet a grant to support the restaging of Jerome Robbins' 1984 Antique Epigraphs. The ballet will premiere in February 2016 at New York Live Arts, where Jennifer Tipton's original lighting will also be recreated. Antique Epigraphs is a 20-minute dance for 8 women, set to Claude Debussy's Six Epigraphs Antiques (for piano with four hands) and Syrinx ( for solo flute). NYTB will perform the ballet with live accompaniment as part of its Legends & Visionaries 2016. New York Theatre Ballet is thrilled to once again work with Kyra Nichols, who staged NYTB's production of Robbins' Rondo in 2013. Kyra will restage Antique Epigraphs in the fall at NYTB. This grant from the NEA supports New York Theatre Ballet's mission to present innovative programs combining revivals of classic masterpieces by choreographers like Jerome Robbins with new contemporary ballets by up and coming artists. The original cast was: Purple: Kyra Nichols Brown: Stephanie Saland Blue Maria Calegari Green: Simone Schumacher Red: Helene Alexopoulos Gold: Victoria Hall Tan: Jerri Kummery Brick: Florence Fitzgerald

Someone making it up the ranks or not being Principal doesn't influence whether I'm impressed with a dancer -- my reaction to rank is often ??? -- and I loved Calegari and Duell, who were the same rank and had similar career paths -- but for some reason never got that adrenaline surge when I saw Saland's name in the program. It wasn't like I was surprised when she gave a stellar performance, and it wasn't a specific performance like with Fugate, who danced the most beautiful Vision Scene in "The Sleeping Beauty" (my favorite part of the ballet) I've still ever seen. It wasn't until she retired, and I moved from NYC and started to think about my favorites in roles, that I realized she was up there more than any other NYCB dancer. It took me a while to appreciate Fugate, because she was such a sunny, warm dancer. She was far more than a soubrette -- womanly rather than perky -- but I've always preferred cooler temperaments, and Fugate was so gracious and optimistic

Absolutely.

There are a wide range of privacy options on social meida. Some social media has privacy options, like Facebook, where there's a difference between a "like" (fan) account and a personal one. Even on personal pages, where you must be accepted as a "friend," have post-by-post settings. Some dancers at PNB make less private things readable by all. The Twitter paradigm is all public, because the goal is to get re-tweets to spread the word. but I was surprised to learn that there is a validation mechanism that can be set so that tweets can only go to and from approved followers, which, for most uses, defeats the purpose,since it's all-or-nothing and instant messenger and texting serve the private function already. I've never seen anything be blocked on Instagram, but at least some require being logged in to view.

I'd expect NYCB to have more ballet masters, although 11 is considerably more than in the '80's and 90's, where there were a few dedicated to Robbins and a children's BM in addition to the Balanchine BM's. The company is bigger and there are many times the number of individual works and leads in any season. There are a lot more choreographers covered as well, not just the big two, Balanchine and Robbins with a smattering of other choreographers, like early Martins, and maybe a Tanner, a Bonnefoux, a Tomasson, and/or a Taras or two. NYCB dancers always talk about being taught roles by each other, and having to learn new roles over dinnertime. There are also more dancers who are fast-tracked through the ranks and/or given Principal parts from the corps. I've never read that they have had a close-to-ideal ideal coaching situation there.

In one of the ABT at 75 Works & Process series at the Guggenheim, Stiefel coached Royal, but I've forgotten which variation. (Maybe "Swan Lake Pas de Trois?") I think I'm remembering correctly that he received a prize and is using some of that money on working with Stiefel.

As always, critics' opinions belong in the "Writings on Ballet" forum or individual dancer threads, where applicable. Company forums are for what you think.

The only people who have to read the books are the editors and the reviewers.

The guest artists and Misty Copeland, at least according to William Taylor, whose speech was removed from YouTube. If I were in NYC, I'd be there for Murphy and anyone.

Considering that most of what the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Ballets have done with Balanchine, the Trust is not enforcing style too hard.

Lots of companies dance Balanchine. Stylistically, it can be hit or miss. Whether PA Ballet will be successful in this rep will depend on how he casts the ballets and how the dancers are coached.