Helene

It's not surprising that most universities don't have a full ballet curriculum: if you look at the program biographies of dancers in modern dance companies, they're filled with university graduates and attendees, but very few ballet dancers in companies with full seasons attended university full-time before they became dancers. Part-time perhaps and certainly a course or two at a time -- maybe more during an extended injury period -- through joint programs like PNB's Second Stage program during their dance careers. Like football players, most dancers are in the corps from for a few years -- in the case of ballet, 18-22; in the case of many professional athletes, right after college -- and many have left the profession or are about to leave by the time their peers have graduated. Ballet is too competitive in general, particularly for women, to be able to go to school full time and train the number of hours and at the level to be able to have a professional career afterwards unless the school is like Indian and has one of the few university ballet dance programs with the level of training needed. I think it is short-sighted where ballet isn't offered as technique even when the curriculum is modern, particularly when it's due to polarization. Just as ballet dancers now must dance current ballet repertory, the technical and physical requirements for most of the modern dance companies I see require the attributes that come from ballet training, even if modern dance accepts a much more diverse range of body types.

If pherank invents the next big monetized Internet thingy, he can have his own private ballet company on that island.

As if there is still a "Royal Ballet style" and a Royal Ballet filled to the brim with dancers who trained in its school making it up the ranks of the Company or in earlier days, trained in the Commonwealth in a common style. As if their training is still honed to perform Ashton in his style. The roster is full of dancers whose training was mostly or entirely outside the Royal Ballet: Acosta, Bonelli, Kish, Marquez, Nunez (before going to RBS), Osipova, Soares, Yanowsky, and those are just the Principals. Osipova dances in the "Royal Ballet" style? Really? Mason hired Alexandra Ansanelli from NYCB for Pete's sake. This is the lamest excuse I've heard in ages. Cojocaru at least gets a last laugh: she's the star of the Royal Ballet's most recent "Sleeping Beauty" DVD, and she is spectacular in it.

Randy Crespo has joined Ballet Arizona: http://balletaz.org/people/randy-crespo/

Someone please take up onxmyxtoes on this offer (because I'd love to, but am 3000 miles away).

Timothy Lynch was an elegant dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet, and he now teaches on the PNB School Faculty. Here is the press release for his lecture/demo this Sunday, 20 October at 5pm at Seattle's Broadway Performance Hall: Timothy Lynch presents THREADS A JOURNEY OF BOYS THAT DANCE A Master’s thesis lecture/performance bringing boys that dance to the forefront SEATTLE, WA – Timothy Lynch will present and perform Threads: A Journey of Boys that Dance, on Sunday, October 20 at Broadway Performance Hall. This event is a lecture based on his more than 10 years of experience teaching ballet to boys at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Lynch will showcase his choreography featuring an all-male cast. For the past year and half Lynch has been attending the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in pursuit of his Master’s degree in dance. He began his research with boys last year, documenting and investigating his 100+ boys at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Tim threads his own personal journey from young trainee to professional dancer to dance educator. He uses this experience to spotlight his interest in his students’ physical and technical development, their camaraderie and having a male educator as a role model. “My hope is that dance becomes mainstream, and that all boys who want to dance would pursue it as they would any other sport and be supported by their families, teachers, and peers, not just in Seattle, but throughout the nation,” Lynch said. In addition to this performance, on October 13 the Dance Educators Association of Washington honored Lynch as Dance Educator of the Year at its conference in Vancouver, WA. “I am passionate about teaching, and to be recognized by peers is such an honor,” Lynch said. “Seeing my students achieve great things fuels me to keep learning and continue to root for them.” Lynch will also present Threads at the National Dance Educators Organization’s Conference Oct. 23-27, 2013, in Miami, Fla.

This is the text of the email I just received: New Documentary About Houston Ballet Premieres Nov. 10 On Sunday, November 10 at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston at 4:00 pm, the Houston Cinema Arts Festival will present the world premiere of a new documentary, “Houston Ballet: Breaking Barriers,” on the rich five-decade history of Houston Ballet. The screening is free and open to the public. No advance tickets will be issued. The 85-minute documentary chronicles the key themes of Houston Ballet’s history: the early impact of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in the 1930s and 40s in inculcating a love of dance among Houstonians, the determination and perseverance of a handful of Houston’s founding families during the 1960s and 1970s; the making of legendary ballet stars through color-blind casting in the 1980s and 1990s; diplomatic struggles and international incidents; and exposure to the world’s best artistic talent. The director of the documentary is John Carrithers of Carrithers Studio, a Houston-based filmmaker who served as Director of Photography on several recent feature documentary projects including: Mothers At War, a film about women combat veterans, and 38 Pieces, a documentary about the Byzantine Frescoes rescued by Dominique de Menil, directed by Susan and Francois de Menil. Attendees should arrive at the venue 30 minutes prior to the screening for the best chance of being seated. For more information about the documentary and this exciting film festival, visit the Houston Cinema Arts Festival website: http://cinemartsociety.org/

Ther is a certain younger demographic that's stayed away from Facebook after middle-ages women, ie Mom, took it over. Some kids even maintain PC-13 versions that their parents see, but have parallel internet lives. I do know lots of people who are signed up for news tweets and get at least breaking news from them. Tweets are like modern day RSS feeds over the phone.

I meant to say that she didn't say that any publicity, including bad, was good for the company. I did think you were attributing it to her.

She didn't say that any publicity is bad publicity, though: she said that it's important for audiences to see the dancers as people in order to grow new audiences. She also said that the goal was to fill the theater in SLC. I have even more respect for Allison hearing that as an AGMA rep, when the dancers were being asked to take pay cuts and lose the full roster, especially considering the big and ambitious rep that Sklute plans for them, she thought this would be good for the company, and she put her money where her mouth is by making her own life public. Maybe the Hulu audiences are different than the TV audiences, reported to be a young teenage demographic, but color me surprised that "Joe Next Door" is that interested in Beckanne's or Zachary's relationship woes. (Interested in Beckanne is another story.) I would think that more dancing in class and rehearsal that shows the athleticism and how hard it is would be more appealing to sports guys. I don't mean the perfunctory footage of barre, which don't come across as all that strenuous, but center work, particularly jumps, and the mechanics of partnering. The CBC documentary "Romeos and Juliets" on the making of the Ratmansky production on National Ballet of Canada did show how hard it was and the pressures the dancers and choreographer were under. I'm also surprised about demographics, because while there is much greater acceptance of gay relationships among younger people, as much as Zachary's drama makes me press that fast forward button before he opens his mouth, Breaking Pointe is showing a real relationship between two men on screen and over time and is a great example of how two people support each other day-to-day when one is a dancer and a big career decision is about to be made. If it's true that this doesn't put off Average Joe in Salt Lake City and its suburbs, there's hope for Western civilization yet.

Anna Netrebko said in an interview with "Opera Lively" that she would be performing in one of the cermeonies. In the interactive video about the Sochi Olympics shown at the Closing Cermonies at the Vancouver Olympics, Gergiev conducted and Mariinsky dancers were featured. ( Uliana Lopatkina performed a short, four-character version of "Carmen," with Yuri Beshmet conducting his chamber orchestra onstage during the Cultural Olympiad.) It would be no surprise were he to be prominent in the cermonies for the Sochi Olympics.

Yes, upload is available only to Moderators, for security reasons. If you attach the file in mail and send it to the "Contact Us" link at the top of the page, we'd be happy to post it for you, and we'd all be grateful.

Argh, if she had gone to Ballet Arizona, I would have seen Debona all these years in Balanchine.

Talk about plies:

It's great to hear about the actual dancing by this company and not just what we can glean from the all-to-short glimpse from the TV show.

From the press release: SPECIAL EVENTS FRIDAY PREVIEWS Friday, November 1, 2013, 6:00 pm The Phelps Center, 301 Mercer Street, Seattle Join PNB for an hour-long dance preview led by Artistic Director Peter Boal and featuring PNB dancers rehearsing excerpts from KYLIAN + PITE. PNB Friday Previews offer an upbeat and up-close view of the Company preparing to put dance on stage. Tickets, $10 each, may be purchased through the PNB Box Office. (This event will sell out in advance.) Friday Previews are sponsored by U.S. Bank. BALLET PREVIEW — FREE Tuesday, November 5, 2013, 12:00 pm 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 KYLIAN + PITE, complete with video excerpts.. PNB LECTURE SERIES & DRESS REHEARSAL Thursday, November 7, 2013 Lecture 6:00 pm, Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall Dress Rehearsal 7:00 pm, McCaw Hall Join PNB artistic director Peter Boal in conversation with choreographer Crystal Pite. Attend the lecture only or stay for the dress rehearsal. Tickets, $12 for the lecture or $30 for the lecture and dress rehearsal, 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 ballet 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.

PNB's upcoming November (8-9, 14-17) program features Jiri Kylian's "Petite Mort,"Sechs Tanze," and new-to-PNB "Forgotten Land," and Crystal Pite's "Emergence," originally created for National Ballet of Canada and performed by NBoC during its last Western tour. From the press release: PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET PRESENTS KYLIAN + PITE Featuring PNB premieres of Jiri Kylian’s Forgotten Land and Crystal Pite’s Emergence, plus the return of audience favorites Petite Mort and Sechs Tänze (Six Dances). PNB welcomes two new dancers to the company with KYLIAN + PITE. November 8 - 17, 2013 Marion Oliver McCaw Hall 321 Mercer Street, Seattle Center Seattle, WA 98109 November 8-9 & 14-16 at 7:30 pm November 9 at 2:00 pm November 17 at 1:00 pm SEATTLE, WA — Spellbinding premieres by Jiri Kylian and Crystal Pite join Kylian’s sensual Petite Mort and raucous Sechs Tänze (Six Dances) in KYLIAN + PITE, Pacific Northwest Ballet’s fascinating foursome of contemporary works. Emergence marks PNB’s debut excursion with sensational Canadian native Crystal Pite, founder and artistic director of Vancouver’s Kidd Pivot. A riveting ensemble piece, Emergence showcases Pite’s gift for provocative imagery as swarms of dancers ebb and flow against a towering hive backdrop. PNB expands its Kylian repertory with the soulful and kinetic Forgotten Land, set to Benjamin Britten’s haunting score. The evening is rounded out by audience favorites Petite Mort, a sexy, gold-washed duel for six couples and six fencing foils, and the joyfully charming Sechs Tänze, “an 18-century court gone delightfully mad.” (The Seattle Times) Kylian + Pite runs for seven performances only, November 8-17 at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $28 and may be purchased by calling 206.441.2424, online at pnb.org, or in person at the PNB Box Office, 301 Mercer Street at Seattle Center. Two dancers join PNB’s ranks with these performances of KYLIAN + PITE: New apprentice Christian Poppe was a Professional Division student with PNB School, and has recently returned from PNB’s exchange program with the Royal Danish Ballet. He has danced in many company productions and toured with the company to Las Vegas last fall to perform in the corps of George Balanchine’s Diamonds. Corps member Raphaël Bouchard comes to PNB from Les Ballets de Monte Carlo where he danced for the past nine years. Seattle audiences may remember him from last season when he stepped in at the last second to replace an injured dancer and perform Benvolio in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette. PNB congratulates and welcomes Christian and Raphaël. The line-up for KYLIAN + PITE will include: PETITE MORT Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Piano Concerto in A Major [Adagio] KV 488, Piano Concerto in C Major [Andante] KV 467) Choreography: Jiri Kylian Staging: Roslyn Anderson Premiere: August 23, 1991: Netherlands Dance Theater PNB Premiere: November 5, 2009 SECHS TÄNZE (Six Dances) Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Sechs Deutsche Tänze [six German Dances], KV 571, 1789) Choreography: Jiri Kylian Staging: Roslyn Anderson Premiere: October 24, 1986; Netherlands Dance Theater PNB Premiere: September 24, 2010 FORGOTTEN LAND - PNB Premiere Music: Benjamin Britten (Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. 20, 1939) Choreography: Jiri Kylian Staging: Roslyn Anderson Premiere: April 12, 1981; Stuttgart Ballet Jiri Kylian, in comparison to composer Benjamin Britten, sees Sinfonia da Requiem as a work of more personal character than a political one—for it is always people who determine the political scene. It is always people and nature who turn the wheel of evolution a little further. East Anglia, a coastline of England slowly submerging under the sea, is the birthplace of Benjamin Britten. The image of land taken over by the sea—together with a painting by Edvard Munch—became the primary inspiration for Kylian’s choreography of Forgotten Land: land—the basis and centre of human existence—is in itself always subject to the eternal metamorphosis and mutation; land, from ancient times bearing the imprints of generations; lands within the memories of human beings, that had to be forgotten because of political struggle; lands destroyed by nature or human negligence; wishful lands that have only emerged in our dreams; lands of promise and illusion. (Notes courtesy of the Kylian Foundation. Used by permission.) Principal support for the Pacific Northwest Ballet premiere of Jiri Kylian’s Forgotten Land is generously provided by Patty Edwards. EMERGENCE- [PNB Premiere Music: Owen Belton (2009) Choreography: Crystal Pite Staging: Hope Muir Premiere: March 4, 2009; National Ballet of Canada (Toronto) Crystal Pite is known as one of the most innovative and exciting choreographers at work in Canada today. National Ballet of Canada commissioned Pite to create an original work for the National Ballet’s 2008-09 season as part of Innovation, a program of new work by Canadian choreographers. The result, Emergence, brought audiences to their feet after every performance and went on to win four Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Outstanding Production, Outstanding New Choreography, Outstanding Performance and Outstanding Sound Design/Composition by Owen Belton. A riveting dark-hued work that casts a swarming, scurrying group of dancers, insect-like, in an eerily subterranean universe, Emergence dramatizes through its mesmerizing choreographic attack the ways in which the instinct for creating social forms seems hard-wired into life itself. Pite’s inspiration for the work came from reading Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities and Software by American popular science theorist Steven Johnson and considering parallels between the social organization of bees and the hierarchical nature of classical ballet companies. Johnson’s statement that “simple agents following simple rules could generate amazingly complex structures” became a touchstone for the piece. Pite was interested in individual expression and in collective problem solving through movement, often favoring the visual and kinesthetic appeal of the eccentric over the mundane and the grotesque over the beautiful. Pite rarely works with dancers en pointe and was attracted not only to the dancers’ ease of movement but also to the potential for a creature-like effect. Sometimes fragmented and gestural, with traces of the isolation and popping techniques of hip hop, Pite’s choreographic method was a catalyst for change in the dancer’s bodies. Key to Pite’s vision for Emergence was her collaboration with composer Owen Belton. Also from the west coast, Belton uses both acoustic and electronic instruments, often in combination with computer processing techniques such as granular synthesis, to arrive at atmospheric palettes of sound and tone. Pite and Belton have incorporated drone-like sounds of bees along with sounds of marching to signify the power and ominous presence of the body politic. (Excerpted notes courtesy of National Ballet of Canada.) Principal support for the Pacific Northwest Ballet premiere of Crystal Pite’s Emergence is generously provided by Marcella McCAffray. TICKET INFORMATION & DISCOUNT OFFERS Tickets to KYLIAN + PITE ($28-$174) are available 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 hours a day, seven days a week) Tickets are also available, subject to availability, 90 minutes prior to each performance at McCaw Hall, located at 321 Mercer Street. $15 TICKETS FOR AGE 25 & UNDER All Thursday and Friday performances: November 8, 14, 15 at 7:30 pm One ticket for $15 and 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 November 8, 14 and 15 performances only. Offer is subject toavailability and not valid on previously purchased tickets. NOTE: Each attendee must present valid I.D. upon ticket retrieval. TEEN TIX PNB is a proud participant of Seattle Center’s Teen Tix program. Teen Tix 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 GROUP SALES Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For group tickets, please call 206.441.2416, email juliej@pnb.org or visit pnb.org/Season/GroupTix. STUDENT AND SENIOR RUSH TICKETS 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. Subject to availability. I've opened a thread for 2013-14 roster changes here: http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/37916-dancers-coming-and-going-2013-14/ More details are available on the PNB site: http://www.pnb.org/Season/13-14/KylianPite/ Info on special events related to this rep in the next post.

PNB's most recent press release on the Kylian + Pite program coming up in November announces that two dancers will be joining PNB with the program: Two dancers join PNB’s ranks with these performances of KYLIAN + PITE: New apprentice Christian Poppe was a Professional Division student with PNB School, and has recently returned from PNB’s exchange program with the Royal Danish Ballet. He has danced in many company productions and toured with the company to Las Vegas last fall to perform in the corps of George Balanchine’s Diamonds. Corps member Raphaël Bouchard comes to PNB from Les Ballets de Monte Carlo where he danced for the past nine years. Seattle audiences may remember him from last season when he stepped in at the last second to replace an injured dancer and perform Benvolio in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette. PNB congratulates and welcomes Christian and Raphaël. Congratulations to PNB's newest company members

In a rare exception to our "Ballet Only" policy in the ballet forums, I'll leave this thread and add: I mean, how do you even practice that? I picked this Astaire, because Rogers' dress has a life of its own: If Carlos Saura hasn't filmed it, chances are the best Flamenco dancing is captured on cell phone cameras with waiters and patrons walking past. This is no exception; the dancing starts at about 1'12". "Alegrias" is the closest thing Flamenco has to happy: "Guapo" pretty much sums it up.

It would have been impractical if it had been.

I don't know how many people recognize that she is Russian or even notice that her first name is spelled with a "k." She wouldn't get the "bump" the way Osipova would. Part also doesn't get that many big review nights, and casual fans rely upon those and the dancers with big preview articles if they're making decisions not based on the dates they're free. When Part was reviewed in the past, she often had mixed reviews from Macaulay, which doesn't help her to sell tickets to casual fans. When people are told that they just don't know to what heights Osipova will next soar, they want to be there to see for themselves. Part is not that kind of dancer, and she never will be, and she's not a rarity, as in "You must catch that one Cojocaru Aurora."

I always when younger dancers describe "Serenade" as if the original students at School of American Ballet in 1934 were bunheads. The students 1934 were from a range of backgrounds, and in a Q&A at PNB, Doug Fullington explained that many were professional dancers/performers who wanted to hone their technique, and they had a wide range of body types. They were not intense teenagers training for a profession that didn't exist in America in its current form at that time.

I didn't see it until Winter 1983 season, and in the eight full performance I saw from then through January 1986, Gordon Boelzner played, and in the other eight performances I saw from February 1986 through June 1993, Jerry Zimmerman played it. Kozlova and Kozlov danced a variation (or maybe two) for the Dancers' Emergency Benefit performance in February 1986, but I didn't record who the pianist was. I don't remember ever seeing Dianne Chilgren play onstage for NYCB -- she joined PNB in 1985 -- but that doesn't mean my memory isn't faulty or I missed the performances in which she played.

The piano accompaniment was done by Dianne Chilgren, a stellar pianist who played for NYCB before joining Pacific Northwest Ballet in 1985. Here's an article about her: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20030803&slug=behind03 PNB screened documentary footage in which she explained how she had to tweak the timing to reflect the condition of the film. (sandik: we were typing at the same time )

Giuseppe Verdi was born two hundred years ago today, on 10 October 1911.