Helene

As always, casting is subject to change. There is plenty of superb casting to go around, and New York audiences are in for a treat. Interest in former NYCB dancers, especially Carla Körbes and Seth Orza, who perform Roméo and Juliette on Friday and Saturday nights as Apollo and Terpsichore in the Balanchine program is high and understandable, but I would also urge people to see the Kaori Nakamura/James Moore cast at the Saturday matinee. For those planning to see two, a Saturday double-header will let you see the most combinations of casting. Seth Orza's Apollos in Seattle were superb. Laura Gilbreath and Lindsi Dec, who are paired in "Concerto Barocco," are two tall dancers with beautifully articulate legs and feet, and as a bonus, Karel Cruz will give a partnering workshop in it. Lesley Rausch and Maria Chapman are strikingly different dancers, but they will make a lovely pairing as Polyhymnia and Calliope. I wish there was more Jerome Tisserand than in the second "Agon Pas de Trois," but it's a short tour.

Today I received the press release for the New York performances, which include casting! Casting Announced for Pacific Northwest Ballet at New York City Center, February 13-16 First Full-Company NY Performances Since 1996 New York, NY, January 28, 2013 -- New York City Center will present Pacific Northwest Ballet in its first full-company performance in NYC since 1996, February 13-16, 2013. PNB, celebrating its 40th Anniversary season, will present two programs featuring a mixed repertoire of Balanchine ballets and Jean-Christophe Maillot's full-length Roméo et Juliette. The troupe will be accompanied by the PNB Orchestra, led by Music Director and Principal Conductor Emil de Cou. Balanchine Mixed Bill Wednesday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m. The works of George Balanchine are central to the history of Pacific Northwest Ballet, which has 38 of his ballets in its repertory. The three works selected for City Center span the first 30 years of Balanchine's choreography: Concerto Barocco (1941) and Agon (1957) staged by PNB Founding Artistic Director Francia Russell, and Apollo (1928) staged by PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal. Ms. Russell worked closely with Balanchine as a dancer in numerous works, including Concerto Barocco and Agon, the latter in which she was a member of the original corps de ballet and later performed in the First Pas de Trois, re-choreographed for her by Balanchine. Ms. Russell's staging of Agon is unique in that it predates later changes Balanchine made to the ballet. She also worked as a ballet master for Balanchine. Mr. Boal first performed Apollo with New York City Ballet in 1989 and later danced it for his retirement performance in 2005. Concerto Barocco Choreography: George Balanchine © New York City Ballet Music: Johann Sebastian Bach (Double Violin Concerto in D minor, BWV 1043) Staging: Francia Russell Conductor: Allan Dameron Laura Gilbreath - Lindsi Dec Karel Cruz Chelsea Adomaitis - Jessika Anspach - Amanda Clark - Emma Love - Elle Macy - Margaret Mullin - Elizabeth Murphy - Leah O'Connor Apollo Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust. Music: Igor Stravinsky Apollon Musagete, 1927-1928) Staging: Peter Boal Conductor Emil de Cou Apollo: Seth Orza Terpsichore: Carla Körbes Calliope: Maria Chapman Polyhymnia: Lesley Rausch Agon Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust. Music: Igor Stravinsky (1953-1956) Staging: Francia Russell Conductor Emil de Cou Lesley Rausch - Batkhurel Bold Kylee Kitchens - Elizabeth Murphy - Jonathan Porretta Andrew Bartee - Maria Chapman - Jerome Tisserand Chelsea Adomaitis - Jessika Anspach - Emma Love - Leah O'Connor Roméo et Juliette Friday, February 15 at 8 p.m. Saturday, February 16 at 2 & 8 p.m. Roméo et Juliette Pacific Northwest Ballet was the first American ballet company to perform choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot's contemporary interpretation of Shakespeare's great love story. In an unconventional version of the classic tragedy, Maillot (artistic director of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo) has taken inspiration from Prokofiev's classic score, structuring the action in a manner akin to cinematic narrative. Roméo et Juliette Music: Sergei Prokofiev (Op. 64, 1935-1936) Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot Staging: Gaby Baars, Bernice Coppieters, and Giovanna Lorenzoni Conductor: Emil de Cou Juliet: Carla Körbes (Feb. 15, 16 eve), Kaori Nakamura (Feb. 16 mat) Roméo: Seth Orza (Feb. 15, 16 eve), James Moore (Feb. 16 mat) Friar Laurence: Karel Cruz Mercutio: Jonathan Porretta (Feb. 15, 16 eve), Ezra Thomson (Feb. 16 mat) Tybalt: Batkhurel Bold Lady Capulet: Laura Gilbreath (Feb. 15 eve), Maria Chapman (Feb. 16 mat), Lindsi Dec (Feb. 16 eve) The Nurse: Rachel Foster (Feb. 15, 16 mat), Carrie Imler (Feb. 16 eve) Benvolio : Benjamin Griffiths (Feb. 15, 16 eve), Kyle Davis (Feb. 16 mat) Paris: Joshua Grant (Feb. 15, 16 eve), William Lin-Yee (Feb. 16 mat) Rosaline: Maria Chapman (Feb 15), Kylee Kitchens (Feb. 16 mat), Lesley Rausch (Feb. 16 eve) Pacific Northwest Ballet, one of the largest and most highly regarded ballet companies in the United States, was founded in 1972. In July 2005, Peter Boal became artistic director, succeeding Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, artistic directors since 1977. The company of nearly 50 dancers presents more than 100 performances each year of full-length and mixed repertory ballets in Seattle and on tour. The company has toured to Europe, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Canada, and throughout the United States, with celebrated appearances in New York City and Washington, D.C. www.pnb.org Pacific Northwest Ballet's appearance at New York City Center is made possible, in part, by New York City Center Dance Season Sponsor Frederic and Robin Seegal. Raisbeck Engineering is Principal Sponsor of PNB's 2013 New York City Center tour.

Definitely Rollofson as an acolyte, but I thought that was Gilbreath doing Lady Capulet. I couldn't recognize who was in the red tights or leg warmers practicing Juliet behind Carla Korbes.

We did see that. It was only at the very end when there was a close up, and then they did that sublime scurry into lines on the mostly empty stage.

They either picked the wrong guy or knew the plan would have to have gone perfectly to succeed: this man is as strong and determined as Grigorovich. From his interview hours after his first surgery, I have been in awe of his strength. Tsiskaridze talks a good game and, through the petition, has shown he's willing to play dirty, but I can't help thinking he'd have collapsed under such an attack, as would most others.

Not yet Maria Prorvich did not appear as advertised, not surprising given that she'd spent the preceding 10 days at her husband's bedside in hospital. Prior to the second act, when describing the forthcoming dances, Katerina Novikova stated that the Manu dance would be performed by Anna Rebetskaya, and the final credits reflected that. I missed most of the intro to Act II -- many thanks for the correction! I forgot to mention Medvedev's Bronze Idol: I loved the plush muscularity and weightiness of it, but especially the mechanical indications and characterization throughout.

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There were just a handful of opening credits in the opening sequence: Nikiya: Svetlana Zakharova Solor: Vladislav Lantratov Gamzatti: Maria Alexandrova Rajah: Alexei Loparevich High Brahmin: Andrei Sitnikov Before the second act, Katerina Novikova, the Bolshoi spokeswoman and multi-lingual broadcast host, mentioned a few other dancers, and many were listed in the quickly rolling credits, but here is the rest of the cast list from the Bolshoi site. Tologragva, warrior: Alexander Voytyuk A Slave: Denis Rodkin Magedaveya, fakir: Anton Savichev Aya, slave: Anastasia Vinokur Gumpe: Yulia Lunkina, Svetlana Pavlova Grand Pas: Karim Abdullin,Ivan Alexeyev, Alesya Gradova (Boyko), Elizaveta Kruteleva, Anna Leonova, Yulia Lunkina, Anna Okuneva, Yanina Parienko, Svetlana Pavlova, Maria Vinogradova Dance with drum: Anna Antropova, Vitaly Biktimirov, Igor Tsvirko The Bronze Idol: Denis Medvedev Manu (Dance with Jug): Maria Prorvich Anna Rebetskaya (see below) Scene "Shadows" First Variation: Anastasia Stashkevich Second Variation: Anna Tikhomirova Third Variation: Chinara Alizade Before the first half, general director, Anatoly Iksanov spoke about the ballet, and Novikova translated into French and English. Before the third act, Novikova spoke about how Filin, who was in the hospital, usually stood by her in the wings, and how they hope he recovers soon. If Patty Duke can play Patty and Cathy, and Hayley Mills can play twins, perhaps the technology exists so that there can be a DVD where Maria Alexandrova dances both Nikiya and Gamzatti. She owns Gamzatti so well, that it would be a great challenge. Or a series of DVD's where Viktoria Tereshkina guests with the Bolshoi, and they do it twice, switching roles the second time. (Or Doug Fullington gets to do a reconstruction of "La Bayadere" with Carla Korbes and Carrie Imler switching off the roles, with Lucien Postlewaite returning to do Solor. But I digress.) Vladislav Lantratov was a beautiful Solor. I've rarely seen a male dancer with such elegance and carriage -- and beautiful hands -- who could not only jump, but transition effortlessly between them. I preferred Zakharova in the short allegro portions of her solos, especially the end of the basket solo. I thought she looked a lot stronger in the adagio in the Berkeley performances five or six years ago, but that might have been because the camera was close in for most of the broadcast. I would have preferred more distance. With the strength of Alexandrova and Lantratov, Zakharova didn't have the same weight or presence for me. I understand why the YAGP/Emerging Pictures folks are doing a poll on the major roles, but the ballet lives and dies by the depth of the featured characters and the corps. I think they should interview and feature the guy who played the drum in the drum trio, who, according to the cast list is either Vitaly Biktimirov or Igor Tsvirko. The males corps in the section showed the perfect balance of energy/virility and form that the Bolshoi men have at their best. The fakir's roles is a combination of anaerobic dancing, stillness, and intense mime, and kudos to Anton Savichev who did all three equally well. There was a trio with a soloist and two young students. The blond student to the right (facing the screen) has a special presence. This might make me an ugly American, but the blackface is a bad idea. I got the impression that the tempos in the last act were a little fast. They didn't sound fast, but the Shades looked a little pushed. Nonetheless, I thought all three soloists were very fine.

Novikova said there was no scenery for the third Act back then. She also didn't mention whether Petipa cut them before the premiere, because of logistics, or after the premiere. Do they roll the ramp offstage after the entrance? In the HD, they did a close-up on a couple of the dancers, and then suddenly the stage was full of the Shades.

iPhoto outputs photos in .TIFF format, so I would guess it would display them as well.

According to Katerina Novikova in the Bolshoi "La Bayadere" broadcast today before Act III, there were originally 60 or 60-something -- I missed whether there was something after the "sixty" -- shadows, but that Petipa himself cut it down to 30-something.

Gamzatti=Alexandrova!!!! She's like Odile, except she doesn't need any magic. Were I Solor, I'd be besotten: Nikiya, who?

There might be a rule. It's usually printed in the program and sometimes on the ticket itself. There's a rule at the Metropolitan Opera, for example, which says either that latecomers will not be seated until intermission or the first reasonable pause. (Usually after the overture or while sets are being changed.) However, I believe the ushers have discretion. I think it's a mistake to seat people during a performance. Here are some of the policies printed on ticket stubs: Latecomers will not be seated until an appropriate interval*: New York City Opera (1991) Cal Performances (2011) American Ballet Theatre (2011) New York City Ballet (1986, 1994, 2004) Seattle Symphony (2002) Vlaamse Opera (2008) Paris Opera Ballet/Bastille and Palais Garnier (2008). They shut the doors and don't let anyone in until intermission. Aldwych Theatre (1977) Victorian Arts Centre/Melbourne (2002) Royal Opera (2002) Sante Fe Opera (2002) Intermission entry only. Adelaide Festival 2002 There is no late seating during the performance*: San Francisco Opera (2011) Seattle Theatre Group/Paramount Theatre (2010) Seattle Opera (2013) Lincoln Center Festival/Metropolitan Opera House (2011) Ballet Arizona (2011) Royal Ballet (2008) San Francisco Ballet Repertory Season (2004) Pacific Northwest Ballet (2004) Vancouver Recital Society (2010) Vancouver Opera (2010) Dallas Opera (2010) Metropolitan Opera (2004) English National Opera (2005) Liceu (1999) Late Seating is at the Discretion of the Management:* Pacific Northwest Ballet (2011) San Francisco Ballet "Nutcracker) (2004) Carnegie Hall/Zankell (2008) Brooklyn Academy of Music/Gilman Opera House (2001) Sydney Opera House (2002) Sydney Opera House Concert Hall (2002) Plymouth Theatre/NYC (2003) New York Philharmonic/Avery Fisher Hall (2001) Late seating not guaranteed*: Town Hall/Seattle (2010) On the Boards/Seattle (2005) Take a dollar off your next margarita: University of Washington World Series/Meany Theatre (2003) *Or similar wording I suspect the wording on the Bolshoi ticket says, "Don't even think of messing with the ushers." There is a series of interviews with various people who work at the Metropolitan Opera House that are broadcast on the Sirius/XM Met Opera Channel, and one of them was with an usher, who said she made an exception for someone once, because, if I remember correctly, that person promised she'd stay in the back or out of the way until there was a pause, and the patron pushed her way into her seat. The usher said that was the last time she made an exception.

Congratulations to Alexander Majorov: with a Top 10 finish, he's earned two spots for Sweden at 2014 European Championships. There is another Swedish Men's skater, Ondrej Spiegl, who had the scores to qualify for this year's championships: maybe he can go next year. It looks like there are a couple of younger ones who aren't yet strong enough to qualify. Spiegl is originally from Czech Republic and Majorov from St. Petersburg, and they're both coached by their fathers; Majorov's mother is one of his choreographers. When figure skating is the family business, and the family comes from places where figure skating as well as hockey is prized, that's where the boys go. I still miss Berntsson, but he decided to get a life, and even while he was skating, earned at least his undergraduate degree in computer science (and might have even finished his Master's degree before he retired). The Helgesson sisters have earned three spots for Sweden next year. The next up-and-coming skater from Sweden is Isabella Olsson, who has earned the very high technical scores needed to qualify for World Championships this season. She'll be a front-runner for the third spot and should be formidable competition for Joshi Helgesson, if there is a second spot for Worlds and Olympics next year. Evgeny Plushenko, who was expected to defend his title, could barely bend over to pick up the things people threw on the ice for him and withdrew after the SP, and sadly, last year's silver medalist and Worlds bronze medalist in 2011, Artur Gachinsky, didn't qualify this year. Plushenko has been so dominant and Yagudin before and concurrent with him, that it's easy to think that Russia has been dominant for longer than they have. Plushenko won Europeans in 2010 and 2012, with Gachinski taking silver in 2012, but from 2007-2009 and in 2011, there were no Russian Men on the Euros podium; it had been dominated by France's Joubert and Amodio and Czech Republic's Tomas Verner, with occasional appearence by Stephane Lambiel (when healthy) and comeback skater Samuel Contesti. Gachinski's Worlds bronze in 2011 was the first Worlds medal for a Russian man since Plushenko's win in Dortmund in 2004. (Plushenko and Yagudin won Worlds from 1998-2004, and when they both competed, they both were on the podium.) Verner's technical scores were frighteningly low: his program components scores were nearly double his technical scores, which shows the judges haven't lost any love for him, and he'd be competitive for the podium were he to get his jumps back. His countryman Michal Brezina won his first medal, bronze, after being the perennial 4th place finisher. Fernandez's "Chaplin" program is a beautifully constructed, skated, and performed program. He landed three quad jumps, one in combination, but it's wonderful to have a champion whose performance and choreography was as strong as his technical program. Kostner is coming back from a slow start this season: she skipped Grand Prix and competed internationally only in a small competition until Europeans. Her free skate to "Bolero" won't make anyone forget Torvill and Dean for a second, but her carriage and elegance have improved even from last year, when she had a Kylian-inspired (after "Petite Mort") free skate program to Mozart. The two 16-year-old Russian Ladies seem like they've been around forever -- at 12, silver and bronze medalists Sotnikova and Tuktamysheva won their first Senior Russian Nationals gold and silver medals, respectively; Sotnikova won two more championships in 2010 and 2011, while Tuktamysheva is the reigning Russian champion -- and they both have Junior World Championship and Senior Grand Prix medals, but this is the first year they're old enough for Senior championships, and they went straight to the podium. Fourth place Valentina Marchei has made big strides in her jump technique; she's currently training with former Ladies World Champion, Yuka Sato, and former US Pairs Champion, Jason Dungjen, in the Detroit area. I wouldn't be surprised to see her in the Top 10 at Worlds in London (Ontario) in March. One of the best trends in skating has been the emergence of former ice dancers choreographing for elite singles and pairs skaters, in response to the judging system's rewards for transitions. One of Marchei's choreographers is Massimo Scali, a European medalist ice dancer. Off the top of my head, this year I've also seen programs by Shae Lynn Borne, Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, Julie Marcotte, and Ilia Averbukh. (Christopher Dean and Maria Zoueva have been choreographing for top skaters for a long time, and although Morozov came from Ice Dance, you might not know it from watching his programs.) Their programs are more intricate and interesting choreographically than many standard singles and pairs programs.

Admin Top Hat On: The company forum performance threads are for members to discuss performances they have seen. If you want to know if something has been reviewed in the press, that's what dirac spends many hours in the Links forum to provide. If you want to discuss a review in the press, that is what the "Writings on Ballet" forum is for. Admin Top Hat Off.

What an evocative description!

Grand Rapids Ballet will perform Andrew Bartee's "Arms That Work" from 21-24 March on a program that opens with Arpino's "Light Rain" and closes with "The Four Temperaments."

The 75% tax would have affected 1500 people if it hadn't been struck down in the courts, because the provision was a tax that applied to individuals, when the basis of French taxation is by household. Private support of the arts does not have strong roots or backing in France and most of Europe. The "Friends" that Lefevre would not allow into rehearsal shown in the Wiseman film were Americans. There's a strong belief in France that the arts should be supported by the government out of the high tax revenues. Conventional wisdom in the philanthropic world is that it takes three generations for philanthropy to take hold in any given family, and the US has a tradition of individuals giving to arts organizations. (I'm haven't seen anything, though, that addresses the impact of the internet, with online payment processing and the ease of online publicity and fundraising, on this timeline.) How quickly this can be accomplished in France, if it can be accomplished, will be interesting to see. Unlike the opera world in the big opera countries, like Germany and Italy, where there are many local, government-funded/subsidized houses that have international recognition, there are comparatively few ballet companies in France, and Paris Opera Ballet, which receives the bulk of the funding, dwarfs them all in terms of support. Private support likely will be a hard sell to Parisians, let alone the rest of the country.

A much better video is the one produced by Vail International Dance Festival, one that isn't misidentified as "Swan Lake Dance":

M Millepied does not limit himself to neoclassical ballet:

Plushenko's back issue has become acute since Russian Nationals, and he's withdrawn from the competition. I'd loved Berntsson from the first time I saw him in Malmo at Europeans in 2003. I know that Schultheiss has struggled with injuries and surgeries over the last few years, but I didn't realized he has left the sport for good. He was such an interesting skater with many unusual music choices and creative programs. Kovtun was a controversial choice for the Russian Euros team, having placed lower at Russian Nationals than long-time veteran Konstantin Menshov. I'm glad he was able to put it aside and give a strong performance. He was eye-catching at the 2011 Junior Grand Prix Final.

The Bournonville School, a video project of the daily lessons for Bournonville training, is currently on YouTube in its entirety. The dancers are: Gudrun Bojesen, Caroline Cavallo, Thomas Lund, Mads Blangstrup. Fernando Mora, and Kristoffer Sakura. If I had to save one DVD (set) from a raging fire, it would be this. (Perhaps I should start storing the Kolpakova "Raymonda" in its sleeve.) Watch it while it's still up.

More admin beanie: Comments in publications aren't official news, just as posts on other message boards aren't; only articles and expert blogs in official news publications are. Beanie off.

PNB posted a new video called "On Being Friar Lawrence," which features Karel Cruz. The two acolytes at the beginning of the video are Andrew Bartee (left, with red curls) and Jerome Tisserand (right with dark hair). Later in the video, Carla Korbes is seen as Juliette, solo, with Cruz, and with her Romeo, Seth Orza.

PNB tweeted a photo of R&J stager Giovanna Lorenzoni with (l-r) Kaori Nakamura, Lesley Rausch, Carrie Imler, Carla Korbes, and a fifth dancer who is partially obscured by Lorenzoni. Maybe Margaret Mullin? # SteveJobs would approve: RetJ stager, Giovanna uses her iPhone to review steps w/ dancers # WeTechSavvy pic.twitter.com/2sbXjYU6