Helene

I think I saw "Dumbo" on a black and white TV I didn't remember this scene being caused by drugs that were smoked. I thought maybe I had forgotten something about "Fantasia." Thanks sandik!

He was clearly smoking from a hookah. No bong, no joint, no hash cigar. What movie do the pink elephants come from?

Yesterday's Links lead with an article by Rosalyn Sulcas and Michael Cooper about how stars are leaving flagship companies for international careers. They write, Reading a lot about the Royal Ballet in the last two decades, this doesn't strike me as anything new; however the Royal style that changed to follow the virtues of Macmillan long became diffuse. Reading about the Mariinsky, over the past two decades it seems to be aiming for a misunderstanding of a Western aesthetic. As far as the stars leaving leading to homogeneity, it strikes me that this is like the tail leading the dog, that ship sailed long ago, and what makes stars unique is less about their training and more about their interpretative and technical gifts. As someone who grew up on ABT in the '70's, what made a Fracci/Bruhn "Giselle" different from a Makarova/Nagy "Giselle" -- and so pleasurable -- was just as much about training and style as interpretive and technical gifts.

Latest podcast is with ABT's Christine Shevchenko: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/balancingpointe-journey-into/id764593885

I probably shouldn't post before I finish my sentences I meant to say that the hookah is very "Bayadere," which wouldn't have been that familiar to the American public, so it must have been a bit of a surprise.

The hookah is very "Bayadere."

Oh, yes he could.

The Wiki description of Montbéliard states it was 13km from the German-speaking Swiss border and wasn't part of France until the 1790's, after which it remained a Protestant enclave in heavily Catholic France.

It was like an entire season of "This dance is about two people who are in love, but they can't make it work," I mean "So You Think You Can Dance" contemporary, in less than four minutes. Impressive.

Wevers is not a shorter man, and he owned the role for years. If Gilbreath is Lilac -- and I hope Dec gets it this year, too -- a tall Carabosse would be great. I'm hoping for Josh Grant, too.

Timothy Lynch and Olivier Wevers were the last Carabosse's I saw. I saw Paul Gibson in 2001. Lynch is PNBS faculty, but Wevers is deep in Whim W'him's new program, "Instantly Bound," which runs 17-19 January, which is not practical. I was trying to figure out how on Earth I would have missed that, and I realized that the date was during the Olympics, and the performances I was watching were in the speed skating oval in Richmond, BC. Hopefully this season I'll see her reprise. I hope Chapman gets to do the full length, too. She was radiance personified in "Aurora's Wedding."

I'm glad you remembered that, Sandy! I thought she made her debut in a school performance. (I'm not sure if the school performances count as debuts: I think they're abridged versions.)

Particularly after the Tharp and Kylian/Pite programs. They do need to rest up, though, with the extra shows.

Dewdrop is as important a role as Sugar Plum in Balanchine's version. When it first premiered, the Sugar Plum variation was performed after the Grand Pas, and Tallchief, who had only greeted Marie and Prince Nephew and summoned the troops, said that she heard the roar for LeClerq's Dewdrop at the premiere and knew she had her work cut out for her. (Now the SPF variation is in the beginning of the act.)

In fact, it's the opposite here: it's state-sponsored religious displays that are prohibited. Private displays are ubiquitous. I look forward to reading about it!

Related events for "Sleeping Beauty" listed on the PNB website are: Coaching The Sleeping Beauty Studio Presentation Thursday, January 16, 2014, 5:30–7:00 pm, The Phelps Center, Studio C. The role of Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty is one of ballet’s most challenging and rewarding. From the Rose Adagio to the Vision scene to the Wedding pas de deux, the ballerina must portray nobility coming of age within the language of the danse d’ecole. Artistic Director Peter Boal works with PNB’s Auroras in this studio coaching session of the celebrated ballet. Listen to the Ballet PNB partners with 98.1 Classical KING FM to bring listeners some of history’s most popular ballet scores, featuring the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra direct from McCaw Hall. Tune in to KING FM for a live broadcast of Tchaikovsky’s beautifully scored The Sleeping Beauty on Saturday, February 8 at 7:30 pm. Only on 98.1 fm or online at www.king.org/listen. Friday Previews Friday, January 24, 2014, 6:00–7:00 pm, The Phelps Center PNB’s popular Friday Previews are hour-long studio rehearsals hosted by Artistic Director Peter Boal and PNB artistic staff, featuring Company dancers in excerpts from upcoming ballets. More Information Ballet Previews—Free Lunchtime Preview Lecture: Seattle Public Library Tuesday, January 28, 2014, 12:00–1:00 pm Join PNB for a free lunchtime preview lecture at the Central Seattle Public Library. Education Programs Manager Doug Fullington will offer insights about The Sleeping Beauty, complete with video excerpts. More Information Lecture Series & Dress Rehearsal Dress Reharsal: Thursday, January 30, 2014 Lecture 6:00–6:45 pm, Nesholm Family Lecture Hall, McCaw Hall Dress Rehearsal 7:00–9:30 pm, McCaw Hall Join us for an engaging interview during the hour preceding the dress rehearsal. Attend the lecture only or stay for the dress rehearsal. More Information Oops, I must have clicked "Older" twice accidentally.

The first production after the "Nutcracker" is Ronald Hynd's after Petipa production of "Sleeping Beauty," and it opens on Friday, 31 January. Three notes: all matinee performances begin at 1pm. There are two additional matinee performances, first weekend Sunday (2 February) and second weekend Saturday (8 February). There will be a total of nine performances. There will be no post-performance Q&A's, but Doug Fullington's will present 30-minute pre-performance lectures starting one hour before curtain. So far, the only casting confirmation we have is that Rachel Foster will dance Aurora: in a post-performance Q&A from the Kylian + Pite program, Foster noted that she had not danced in pointe shoes for two months -- her roles in "Emergence" were the only female parts danced in ballet slippers -- and he jokingly wished her good luck with Aurora. In the full-length version current dancers who've performed Princess Aurora and Prince Florimund are: Carrie Imler and Batkhurel Bold: 2001, 2006, 2010 Kaori Nakamura: 2001 and 2006 (with Olivier Wevers), 2010 (with Lucien Postlewaite) Carla Korbes and Karel Cruz: 2010 Lesley Rausch and Bold (Added, see Sandy McKean's post below) In "Aurora's Wedding" performed in the November 2011 "Love Stories" program, we saw:Maria Chapman and Seth Orza Sarah Ricard Orza and Cruz Lesley Rausch and Bold From Carla Korbes' description of her injury and rehab in the Ballet Initiative podcasts (parts one and two, which I don't see linked), it doesn't sound like she will be ready for Aurora, since rehearsals are in progress, but perhaps a slow start will result in a quicker later stage of recovery. She, Imler, Ricard Orza, and Laura Gilbreath have danced Lilac Fairy. Here's the trailer: Korbes is Aurora, Cruz is Florimund, and Imler is Lilac Fairy.

More ballet dancer interviews with: Renata Pavan, just retired from ABT and now a photographer Joffrey Ballet's Fabrice Calmels; he's got a project cooking called "Ballet Monsters" Chi Cao of Royal Birmingham Ballet and "Mao's Last Dancer" (He played Li Cunxin as an adult.) All have interesting stories.