Helene

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I had no idea either. I went to check to see if his ancestry was Danish, Swedish, or Norwegian .

Jordan Matter has been photographing PNB dancers in NYC. PNB's Facebook post links to Jordan Matter's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/JordanMatterPhotography/photos/a.388923517076.178599.311293567076/10152324596877077/?type=1&theater Another: https://www.facebook.com/JordanMatterPhotography/photos/a.388923517076.178599.311293567076/10152322039982077/?type=1&theater Yum.

Keillor is from Minnesota. While Wiki says he's of English and Scottish ancestry, there are many people with Scandinavian ancestry in the area, and a lot of the characterizations he creates are heavily influenced by this. Plus, his second (from Denmark) and third wives have Scandinavian ancestry. His comments should be taken in the context of being disappointed in the home team.

The Cerrudo was created due to the Joyce-sponsored Nureyev Prize. Wheeldon and Peck are a bit like bringing coals to Newcastle, but it may be the only way NYC sees those two works.

Please keep politics out of it, per BA! policy, unless it is directly related to ballet. Here''s some snark from The Guardian on the Literature selection; I'm surprised the author didn't mention Susqn Lucci: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/emma-brockes-column/2014/oct/09/patrick-modiano-nobel-prize-literature-prize-philip-roth-loser?CMP=twt_gu

Thank you so much for such a vivid description, sasark!

The only advantage I can see for Kochetkova with ABT is NYC and the time saved traveling to Europe and Russia. I'd more expect her to join a European company if she left SFB.

Kathleen O'Connell posted with a link to the casting in the Korbes retirement thread: http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/39287-carla-koerbes-retiring/?p=344162

Also with social media, you really don't know how many fans are involved. Anyone who can create a free email account can sign up for a Facebook account, gmail accounts are tied to YouTube accounts, and the number of actual individuals creating and replying to threads can be a lot lower than the number of usernames that are having discussions with themselves. I would take these with a giant salt-shaker.

The article says nothing about Stepanova employing a paid claquer. To insinuate that she has, or that her overzealous fans are paid-for-hire, or that because everyone is doing it means she might, without an official source for it, is against our policy. Do not do it again. The only thing we know is that she has volatile fans on social media sites, including a Facebook page that tries to make people think it is official. As far as the motivation of her fans on non-official media, or where they get their info, or what they think they know, those are not valid discussion points here. The re-wording is no more acceptable that the initial post. This describes the main reason why we have an official news policy.

(Sorry, I'm having trouble with multiple quotes.) Perhaps the question is, if these rumors are circulating, what is their source? Why are they circulating at all? They are circulating among fans. In general, someone will claim to have talked to a person directly and claim that they were told X. Others will hear something second- or third-hand in various versions. Others will put several pieces of information together and think they've come to the right conclusion Sometimes this is discussed among fans through phone, IM, PM, texting, Skype, etc., and sometimes rumors are posted or hinted at on social media, YouTube comments, discussion boards etc. As to why, sometimes people want to be the first to know or be the Biggest Fan or the most in the know, or to make sure their friends don't buy tickets and be disappointed, etc. etc. Sometimes there are strategic leaks, and not necessarily by the person being spoken about. The usual.

It is unfortunate when a dancer or athlete or other serious performer becomes more associated with his or her fans' behavior rather than accomplishments, especially when that behavior is off-putting and causes a backlash and/or others from taking them seriously. Of course some of that is cultural, and a dancer with a mostly local career and fan base might not care what the rest of us think. It's a tough position that they're in though: like singers who refuse to pay the claque, they risk having the involved fans turn their energies against them if they protest.

I didn't see this until today: a video of Elizabeth Murphy in the Verdy solo from "Emeralds."

I think Twyla Tharp is to thank for how quickly Frantziskonis has been recognized, especially in a company know for tall, and with formidable competition from fellow young "shorts" Leta Biasuccci and Angelica Generosa, who also debuted in the role. Tharp asked Boal for two bodies at the beginning of last season, and the free bodies were Frantziskonis and Steven Loch. She used them to work out the choreography for her new work, and they helped to coach the other dancers. Tharp rewarded them with roles in the ensemble, in which they were both standouts. I wasn't able to see her debut and only performance in the McBride role in "Rubies," but her dancing in the "Diamonds" corps reminded me of what d'Amboise said about the young Suzanne Farrell: he knew she'd be successful because there she was, in the back corner, in the dark, dancing her heart out. No matter where she was onstage, no matter which male giant she ended up behind, no matter which direction she was facing, Frantziskonis was dancing with full commitment.

That is sad news. Rest in peace, Mr. Holder.

The period after Balanchine's death was a very hard time for the NYCB dancers. While I haven't seen many NYCB performances since the mid-90's, it's a different generation dancing now, and I've seen some brilliant performances the few times my trips to NYC coincided with the company's seasons.

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Tickets can be booked online at http://www.eno.org/, by telephone on 020 7845 9300 or in person at the Box Office at London Coliseum, St. Martins Lane, London WC2N 4ES. I've converted the brochure .ppt as a .pdf. It can be downloaded by logged-in members. Russian Ballet Icons 2015_General__eng.pdf

Alastair Macaulay was at tonight's post-performance Q&A as well.

Facebook is not the issue: there are plenty of official dancer, choreographer, critic, company and ballet-related pages that are public-facing and don't need permissions /to be "friended" to see. Those are legitimate here. What are not are fan pages and other fan sites. Not all purport to have a company affiliation that they don't.

No, there is no consensus about Stepanova, at least yet, and not everyone has the share the same opinion. We exist to discuss ballet, not each other. Sometimes it's great to expand to casual fans or people who don't know ballet, but it's s double-edged sword: since the subtleties of ballet aren't the first things that appeal to a broader audience. The issue on Ballet Alert! is that fan sites and fanzines are not valid sources for new of any kind, just like other discussion boards are not, aside from some summaries by our Foreign Correspondents. Please do not cite or discuss them here.

The acoustics in McCaw Hall are generally quite grand, but the brass and drums sounded heavy from all three places I heard it from last weekend in the T&V excerpts. On the other hand, I found it kind of thrilling, like the 1812 Overture. In a Q&A Peter Boal joked that the tempo was un-danceable. The numbering system is dumb, especially since the section numbers are on the top of the arm rests in a little disc that sometimes is missing or obscured by the arm of the person in the back row aisle seat. It keeps the ushers on their toes, though.

David Hallberg tweeted: Live stream today at 2030Paris/1430NYC of Brigitte Lefevre farewell gala @operadeparis on Culturebox. Supposedly a docu on her and Etudes I don't see a sign it is geoblocked. From the culturebox website: Programme Défilé du Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris Création le 8 novembre 1946 à l'Opéra national de Paris Entrée au répertoire le 8 novembre 1946 Le premier "défilé" fut réglé par Léo Staats en 1926 sur la marche de "Tannhäuser" de Richard Wagner. Il ne fut donné que deux fois. En 1945, Serge Lifar voulut reprendre ce défilé, mais il choisit une autre musique : la "marche" des "Troyens" d'Hector Berlioz. Le maître de ballet Albert Aveline en assura les répétitions, et la "première" de cette nouvelle version fut présentée le 8 novembre 1946. Donné seulement lors de galas ou de manifestations exceptionnelles, le "Grand Défilé" du Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris est une parade unique dans le monde de la danse. Etudes Création le 15 janvier 1948 au Théâtre de Copenhague Entrée au répertoire le 19 novembre 1952 Études transpose sur scène une classe de danse. Imaginé par Harald Lander qui fut chorégraphe, maître de ballet et directeur de l’École de Danse de l’Opéra, le ballet se lit comme un manifeste de la technique classique, de sa pureté, de sa rigueur et de son exigence. Aunis Création en 1979 à La Rochelle Entrée au répertoire le 6 décembre 1990 A partir d'une musique traditionnelle qui est celle de la région de La Rochelle (l'Aunis), le ballet n'a pas d'autre ambition que de retrouver le souvenir des années d'enfance bercées par le vent du large. La création d'Aunis à La Rochelle en 1979 était une version solo - Jacques Garnier lui-même-, la version en trio a été montée l'année suivante pour trois danseurs du Théâtre du Silence. En 1981, Aunis entrait au répertoire du GRCOP. En 1988, pour la Biennale de Lyon, Jacques Garnier choisissait Kader Belarbi, Jean-Claude Ciappara et Wilfried Romoli pour une nouvelle présentation d'Aunis. Suite de Danses Création le 23 juin 1913 à l'Opéra national de Paris Entrée au répertoire le 23 juin 1913 Créé par Carlotta Zambelli et Albert Aveline. Duration is 1 hour 20 minutes http://culturebox.francetvinfo.fr/festivals/fetez-la-danse-avec-le-ballet-de-lopera-de-paris/soiree-de-ballet-a-lopera-de-paris-190599