Helene

Most of the articles I read favored the Patriots, and it's often difficult to play the next game after a fairly miraculous win the game before. For example, after "Miracle on Ice" when the US hockey team beat the Soviet Team in the penultimate game of the 1980 Olympic play-offs , the US team was down a goal going into the third period final against Finland. As Peter Boal mentioned in the video, he and the AD of Colorado Ballet had a bet last season, and PNB is still waiting for the pizza. He also mentioned in one of the Don Quixote Q&A's opening weekend that Boston Ballet still hadn't picked its song for the bet, and maybe Nissinen was following Walsh's lead.

I loved it. I think this is what Susan Stroman should be doing. The direction was fluid and inventive, and the chorus was deftly integrated into the production. Kelli O'Hara was fantastic as Valencienne. The tessitura sounded a little too low for Fleming, but stylistically, she was terrific, and she looked divine. Gunn played his role dead center, and Shrader was charming as the French boy toy. He'll sing Tonio in "Daughter of the Regiment" in Santa Fe this summer. O'Hara said that she would like to do more at the Met. I hope they fulfill her wish. I'd never seen it before, and I always thought the ballet ending matched the opera libretto, but it doesn't. In the ballet, the husband cedes Valencienne to the romantic lead, like in "Smiles of a Summer Night," but in the opera, she stays with her husband.

There are two other bios Robbins: Somewhere: The Lift of Jerome Robbins by Amanda Vaill Jerome Robbins: His Life, His Theater, His Dance by Deborah Jowitt Martin Duberman writes a bit on Robbins in his bio The Worlds of Lincoln Kirstein. There's also a bit of snark on Robbins in Joseph Mazo's Dance Is a Contact Sport.

I think Julian MacKay now warrants a topic of his own. With two older sisters on the ballerina track, MacKay was inspired especially by Brooklyn Mack's performance in "Le Corsaire." He was invited to study at the Bolshoi Academy when he was 11 after competing in the junior division at YAGP, and he's had training there comparable to his Russian peers and will be the first American to graduate with a full diploma. He won the gold medal for junior men at IBC Istanbul and the bronze medal at the the 2012 Yuri Grigorovitch Ballet Competition. His older sister, Maria Sascha Khan, just tweeted: Congratulations to him

Cross-posted from Heads Up!: We received the following message: Several weeks ago we launched http://RussianBroadway.com - smart ballet ticket booking service. It has complete playbill of all major ballet theatres of St.Petersburg, Russia in one list. We did our best to make it as smart and simple, as possible. Performances include ballet, opera, folk shows, and concerts. I haven't signed up, but site messaging shows that payment options are by PayPal or credit card. The site is clear and straight foward, and includes casting information where available. There are contact phone numbers in the US, UK, Spain, and Russia.

We received the following message: Several weeks ago we launched http://RussianBroadway.com - smart ballet ticket booking service. It has complete playbill of all major ballet theatres of St.Petersburg, Russia in one list. We did our best to make it as smart and simple, as possible. Performances include ballet, opera, folk shows, and concerts. I haven't signed up, but site messaging shows that payment options are by PayPal or credit card. The site is clear and straight foward, and includes casting information where available. There are contact phone numbers in the US, UK, Spain, and Russia.

Okay, people, I edited out a bunch of shark jumping. We exist to discuss ballet, not each other, and not the discussion. There is no "years of watching" or academic credentials criterion for stating an opinion about a dancer or ballet, and your opinions of each others' right to comment and how you rank their opinions have no place here. Your opinion of a dancer, ballet, etc. is what matters. If you think a post has violated policy, use the "Report" button, and the Moderators will review it. There is also no "starting a fuss": everything stated here can be disagreed with, and discussion boards are not places to be if you don't like being disagreed with by one or many. That's what blogs (with comments turned off) are for. The only exception is the rare occasion when disagreement becomes a stalker-like pattern by a poster of swooping in with an agenda and toddler-like behavior that is disruptive, which is not the case here.

As always, if you want to discuss professional reviews, the place to do that is in the "Writings on Ballet" forum. The company forums are for what you think about what you've seen.

The ballerina's of Folkine's time typically didn't have Lopatikina's turnout any more than they had her extensions. (Not here.)

A new video of Elizabeth Murphy and Seth Orza in the Tavern Scene:

Generally he has stagers for his work who create, at least, the foundation. There was some hope expressed in the Q&A's last season that Forsythe would personalize "New Suite" for PNB. It looks like he might be in Seattle long enough to do this. He's taking up a new post in California in the Fall, and this may turn out to be a combined trip.

From the press release: SPECIAL EVENTS: FRIDAY PREVIEWS Friday, March 6, 6:00 pm The Phelps Center, 301 Mercer Street, Seattle Join us for an hour-long dance preview led by Artistic Director Peter Boal and featuring PNB dancers rehearsing excerpts from THE VERTIGINOUS THRILL OF FORSYTHE. PNB Friday Previews offer an upbeat and up-close view of the Company preparing to put dance on stage. Tickets are $12 each. (These events sell out in advance.) Friday Previews are sponsored by U.S. Bank. BALLET PREVIEW — FREE Tuesday, March 10, 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 William Forsythe, complete with video excerpts. FREE of charge. WILLIAM FORSYTHE ON STAGE 
 Wednesday, March 11, 6:30 pm McCaw Hall Hear from iconic choreographer William Forsythe, as he rehearses the Company onstage at McCaw Hall. Tickets are $25, available through the PNB Box Office. LECTURE SERIES & DRESS REHEARSAL Thursday, March 12, 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 with William Forsythe for an engaging discussion 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, and 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 THE VERTIGINOUS THRILL OF FORSYTHE 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. TICKET INFORMATION Tickets ($30-$184) may be purchased through the PNB Box Office: · Phone - 206.441.2424 (Mon.-Fri. 9am–6pm; Sat. 10am–5pm) · In Person - 301 Mercer Street, Seattle (Mon.-Fri. 10am–6pm; Sat. 10am–5pm) · Online - PNB.org (24/7) Subject to availability, tickets are also available 90 minutes prior to each performance at McCaw Hall. DISCOUNT OFFERS GROUP SALES Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For group tickets, please call 206.441.2416, email JulieJ@PNB.org or use PNB’s online contact form at PNB.org/Season/GroupTickets. KUOW’s FRONT ROW CENTER Saturday, March 14, 2:00 pm It’s back! Join KUOW host Marcie Sillman for a show and great conversation in this “book club for the arts.” Front Row Center guests will enjoy discounted tickets to the March 14 matinee performance, and stay afterwards for a conversation with Sillman, PNB artistic director Peter Boal, and company dancers. For tickets and information, visit KUOW.org/term/front-row-center. YOUNG PATRONS CIRCLE NIGHT Friday, March 20 Join members of PNB’s Young Patrons Circle 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 in their 20s and 30s. YPC members save up to 40% off their tickets. For more info, visit PNB.org and search for “YPC.” $15 TICKETS FOR AGES 25 & UNDER All Thursday and Friday performances: March 13, 19 & 20 at 7:30 pm One ticket for $15 or two for $25 for patrons 25 years and younger! To purchase tickets, contact the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424 or visit 301 Mercer Street. This offer is good for the March 13, 19 & 20 performances only. Offer is subject to availability and not valid on previously purchased tickets. Each attendee must present valid ID upon ticket retrieval. TEEN TIX PNB is a proud participant of Teen Tix, whose members (13 to 19 years old) can purchase tickets to PNB performances and other music, dance, theater and arts events for only $5. To join Teen Tix or view a list of participating organizations, visit TeenTix.org. STUDENT AND SENIOR RUSH TICKETS Subject to availability, half-price rush tickets for students and senior citizens (65+) may be purchased in-person with ID, beginning 90 minutes prior to show time at the McCaw Hall box office.

Peter Boal tweeted:

From the press release: THE VERTIGINOUS THRILL OF FORSYTHE March 13-22, 2015 Marion Oliver McCaw Hall 321 Mercer Street, Seattle Center Seattle, WA 98109 Performances: March 13-14 & 19-21 at 7:30pm March 14 at 2:00pm March 22 at 1:00pm “Forsythe lobbed a live grenade into the laps of those who'd always seen ballet as picturesque and safe.” — The Independent SEATTLE, WA – With THE VERTIGINOUS THRILL OF FORSYTHE, Pacific Northwest Ballet becomes the first major American dance company to present a program devoted entirely to the work of acclaimed choreographer William Forsythe. The triple bill, including two PNB premieres, presents distinctive works from a dance maker legendary for his radical inventiveness. Forsythe achieves perfect neo-classical form in The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, a dizzy delight of refined technique and crystalline pointe work. A sampler of duets, individually re-worked for PNB, New Suite’s multiple pairings articulate a diversity of forms as well as matters between the sexes. And In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated returns to the PNB stage: endlessly prized by dancers and audiences, its relentless pace and fierce physicality serve as paradigm for Forsythe’s revolutionary impact on 21st-century ballet. The program also includes a musical prelude to shine the spotlight on the nationally renowned PNB Orchestra, currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary. THE VERTIGINOUS THRILL OF FORSYTHE runs for seven performances only, March 13 through March 22 at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $30 and may be purchased by calling 206.441.2424, in person at the PNB Box Office at 301 Mercer Street, or online at PNB.org. The line-up for THE VERTIGINOUS THRILL OF FORSYTHE will include: Orchestra Prelude Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Overture from Le nozze di Figaro, 1786) Running Time: Four minutes Pacific Northwest Ballet salutes the mighty PNB Orchestra as it celebrates its 25th Anniversary. All of the mixed reps during PNB’s 2014-15 season include an orchestral selection to spotlight our acclaimed musicians in the pit. The final Orchestra Prelude will be during Carmina Burana. 
The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude (PNB Premiere)
 Music: Franz Schubert
 Choreography: William Forsythe
 Staging: Stefanie Arndt Costume Design: Stephen Galloway 
Scenic and Lighting Design: William Forsythe Running Time: 11 minutes Premiere: January 20, 1996; Frankfurt Ballet The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude has achieved considerable acclaim worldwide for its speed, brilliance, and remarkable musicality. It received New York City’s “Best Ballet of the Season” critics’ choice award in 1998 and appears in the repertories of some of the world’s most renowned ballet companies. Insiders have referred to it as “the most technically difficult ballet ever performed.” Others have found it “the most liberating experience of an entire career.” For the dancer, it is a triumph of euphoric perfection. For the audience, it is eleven elegant minutes of exhilarating excellence. New Suite (PNB Premiere)
 Music: George Frideric Handel (from Concerti grossi, Op. 6, 1736-1741), Luciano Berio (selections from Duetti per due Violini, Vol. 1, 1979-1983), Gavin Bryars (String Quartet No. 1, “Between the National and the Bristol”, 1985) and Johann Sebastian Bach (Chaconne, from Partita in D minor for solo violin, BWV 1004, 1717-1723) Choreography: William Forsythe Staging: Laura Graham and Oleg Klymyuk Scenic and Lighting Design: William Forsythe Costume Design: William Forsythe and Yumiko Takeshima Duration: 25 minutes Premiere: February 25, 2012; Dresden Semperoper Ballet New Suite is made up of a series of pas de deux, which William Forsythe has rearranged or created for the Dresden Semperoper Ballett and now, with some differences from the Dresden version, for Pacific Northwest Ballet. All underlying works were created around the nineties for Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt. The 2015 Pacific Northwest Ballet performances of New Suite mark the first time the work has been performed with live music. In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated Music: Thom Willems (1987)
 Choreography: William Forsythe
 Staging: Kathryn Bennetts Scenic, Costume and Original Lighting Design: William Forsythe Lighting Designer: Randall G. Chiarelli Running Time: 28 minutes Premiere: May 30, 1987; Paris Opera Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet premiere: March 16, 2000 Commissioned by Rudolf Nureyev in 1987 for the Paris Opera Ballet, Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated was recognized immediately as a contemporary masterpiece and has since entered the repertories of major companies around the world. The faux disdain of the dancers contrasts with the strict and severe technical demands of the choreography, while the electronic score by Thom Willems cuts the air like thunder. Forsythe has commented: “Originally created for the Paris Opera Ballet, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated is a theme and variations in the strictest sense. Exploiting the vestiges of academic virtuosity that still signify ‘the Classical,’ it extends and accelerates these traditional figures of ballet. By shifting the alignment and emphasis of essentially vertical transitions, the affected enchainements receive an unexpected force and drive that makes them appear foreign to their own origins.” As for the title of the ballet, look for two golden cherries hanging “in the middle, somewhat elevated,” a minimal reflection of the vast interior of the Palais Garnier, home of the Paris Opera Ballet. For detailed program notes, visit PNB.org. ABOUT THE ARTIST Raised in New York and principally trained in Florida with Nolan Dingman and Christa Long, William Forsythe danced with the Joffrey Ballet and later the Stuttgart Ballet, where he was appointed Resident Choreographer in 1976. Over the next seven years, he created new works for the Stuttgart ensemble and ballet companies in Munich, The Hague, London, Basel, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Paris, New York, and San Francisco. In 1984, he began a 20-year tenure as director of the Ballet Frankfurt.

 After the closure of the Ballet Frankfurt in 2004, Forsythe established a new, more independent ensemble. The Forsythe Company, founded with the support of the states of Saxony and Hesse, the cities of Dresden and Frankfurt am Main, and private sponsors, is based in Dresden and Frankfurt am Main and maintains an extensive international touring schedule. Forsythe’s most recent works are developed and performed exclusively by The Forsythe Company, while his earlier pieces are prominently featured in the repertoire of virtually every major ballet company in the world, including the Kirov Ballet, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, England’s Royal Ballet, and the Paris Opera Ballet. 

 Awards received by Forsythe and his ensembles include the New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award (1988, 1998, 2004, 2007) and London’s Laurence Olivier Award (1992, 1999, 2009). Forsythe has been conveyed the title of Commandeur des Arts et Lettres (1999) by the government of France and has received the German Distinguished Service Cross (1997), the Wexner Prize (2002) and the Golden Lion for Livetime Achievement in Venice (2010).

 In collaboration with media specialists and educators, Forsythe has developed new approaches to dance documentation, research, and education. His 1994 computer application “Improvisation Technologies: A Tool for the Analytical Dance Eye,” developed with the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, is used as a teaching tool by professional companies, dance conservatories, universities, postgraduate architecture programs, and secondary schools worldwide. 2009 marked the launch of “Synchronous Objects for One Flat Thing, reproduced,” a digital online score developed with Ohio State University that reveals the organizational principles of the choreography and demonstrates their possible application within other disciplines. 

 As an educator, Forsythe is regularly invited to lecture and give workshops at universities and cultural institutions. In 2002, Forsythe was chosen as the founding Dance Mentor for The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. He currently co-directs and teaches in the Dance Apprentice Network aCross Europe (D.A.N.C.E.) program, an interdisciplinary professional insertion program based at Dresden’s Palucca Schule. Forsythe is an Honorary Fellow at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in London and holds an honorary doctorate from the Juilliard School in New York. In 2014, Forsythe announced he will join the University of Southern California’s newly-created Glorya Kaufman School of Dance as a professor in fall 2015.

I wasn't entirely alone: I had internet access and Ballet Alert! people to talk to I stayed in an apartment hotel, and didn't have daily interactions with staff. It wasn't until I got home that I realized that I hadn't spoken to many humans on the trip. I go to things alone happily, maybe too happily. I, too, look for arts things to attend when I'm traveling for work. I get cranky when I have to do work-related socializing at night when I'd rather be at a local arts event.

Arts organizations have been trying for over a decade to capture the twenty- and thirty-something markets by creating social groups, so that people meet other people and socialize around the performance, with dinners, wine and cheese, sometimes lectures, etc. The dance-on-stage post opening night parties at PNB are actively marketed to younger people. I was 35 when the cut-off was 36, 41 when the cut-off was 40, and it never occurred to me that Santa Fe Opera's was 45 -- I was still 45! -- or I could have gone to the gathering the last time I was there, instead of speaking to no one for five days except the wait staff at restaurants and ticket sellers at museums. Seattle Symphony toyed with the idea of having a group for people in their 40's and over, which would have cornered the market of older singles or people with uninterested partners and who don't want to go alone. I've seen informal groups, like in Vancouver, the people who gather in the lobby after the performance of Met in HD broadcasts to have some lunch and discuss the opera.

What a weekend! Spectacular performances all around. Dec made her debut last night as Kitri, and she was born for the role. Cruz was flying. Cruz, Foster, and Orza are back. As in back back. The Mercedes and Espadas all sizzled. The first Act is a wonder, just a miracle. Korbes and Bold are Kitri and Basilio next Saturday at 1pm, a non-subscription performance for the best chance to get great subscriber seats. Dec and Cruz close the run on Sunday night at 7pm. Lucky school kids get to see Murphy and Orza this week. Rausch and Tisserand debut Thursday and repeat Saturday night. Imler and Lin-Yee (his debut) dance Friday night and Sunday at 1pm. Through 11:59PM PST tonight (Feb 1), it's a no fee weekend: https://www.pnb.org/promo/nofeequixote?utm_source=Pacific+Northwest+Ballet&utm_campaign=59a5eeafbb-15-donQ-no-fees-opening-weekend-resend&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4f2d9028e9-59a5eeafbb-291617869 Or, by phone (206 441-2424) with code "No Fee Quixote."

Sometimes the road to ballet heaven is helped along by the music. I heard Jerry Zimmerman play this beautifully many times at NYCB.

I've never heard any consensus on the choreography for "Goldberg" being considered a masterwork. I always thought tge jury was still out on whether it's even a great ballet.

I'm so sorry, CTballetfan. I hope you see a lot if great things in the Spring.

There are splendid smaller roles for five dancers in the first scene of Act II where Kitri and Basilio run away and encounter a theater troupe that hides them. I think this is where Nureyev has his gypsy king and band of gypsies? However, none of those roles is as prominent or recurring as Hilarion, Alain, Bibanto, or another prominent dancing villain/foil. Here, the two foils are major mime roles, not dancing roles.

Anyone who doesn't want to see "Sacre" has the option of taking Balanchine's sage advice and closing their eyes and enjoying a concert, in this case one of the greatest scores ever written.

The King, Queen, Princess, Harlequin, and Devil are characters in the play they put on, and it's a lovely part of the act, but none of them are listed as principal roles, which are Kitri/Basilio, Mercedes/Espada, Kitri's two friends, Cupid, Queen of the Dryads, and the characters roles: Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, Gamache, and Kitri's father.

I don't remember a gypsy king character. There's the head of the theater group, who dances the Devil, if I remember correctly. The two main dancing roles for men are Basilio and the toreador, Espada.

The Mariinsky brought Little Humpbacked Horse to the Met with a triple bill in 2011. Tereshkina and Obraztsova danced the Tsar Maiden with Vladimir Shklyarov (Ivan the Fool) at the beginning of the run, with the triple bill following, and then Alina Somova danced Tsar Maiden on the weekend. I had to got back to Seattle, or I would have seen that performance, too. I don't remember who her partner was.