Helene

There's a new thread to discuss Paris Opera Ballet at the Kennedy Center:

Just a quick internet search shows open auditions for Cincinnati Ballet (Cincinnati, Boston, NY, SF), Oklahoma City Ballet (SF, Chicago, OKC), Pennsylvania Ballet (NYC), Dayton Ballet (Dayton), Ballet Met (NYC, Columbus), ABT Studio Company (Long Beach, CA and NYC) and because it's so late in the season, I found references to now-closed open auditions at Kansas City Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, and Ballet Arizona. In 2010 San Francisco Ballet held open auditions for a specific position. Open auditions are expensive in time and money, although there are entry fees to offset some of the expense. I doubt artistic staff would waste its time and money to hold them, for most companies in several cities, if they didn't hire from them. Unlike Ballet West, where Sklute did open auditions at the end of his season, most of the open auditions that I found were held around contract time in the spring, which might mean a dancer could do several of them in one trip. stinger784 might have more insight.

What wonderful news -- I'm kvelling for you and your mom!

I'm surprised it's taken this long, since the last time the summer residency was saved, it was contingent upon finances to continue. The possible bright side is the promise to go back to two weeks in 2014. I'm sure that's subject to review, but I haven't seen many promises lately where other arts organizations are cutting back.

PNB just tweeted a picture of some of the dancers and staff (?) in front of the banner. Check out the banner -- very dramatic and great production values: https://twitter.com/...966825637330944 On the left are Korbes and Cruz in "Waterbaby Bagatelles" and on the right are Rachel Foster and Kiyon Gaines in "Opus 111." It's too bad PNB doesn't have that kind of budget and real estate to showcase Angela Sterling's photos. Seattle Opera had a huge ad on a Seattle Center building for The Ring that could be seen for at least a mile. Click the photo to get a sense of how big it is.

In the lead-up to tomorrow night's opening in Spoletta, Paul Gibson took this photo of (l-r) Lindsi Dec, Maria Chapman, and Rachel Foster sightseeing in Assisi:

In the coming attractions, they said the next episode would be 9 July.

A taste of what it's like to be on tour by Benjamin Griffiths, from the PNB blog: http://blog.pnb.org/...to-spoleto.html Here's the group photo just outside the hotel, posted on PNB's Facebook page: That's doug peeking out of the corner of the back row.

Michael Popkin reviewed Larry Keigwin + Company at The Joyce Theater for danceviewtimes: Will the Real Larry Keigwin Please Stand Up? I wish I could have seen "12 Chairs": I'm a sucker for furniture pieces!

Lorena Feijoo just posted this lovely photo of Acosta and his little daughter Aila to her Facebook page:

Clara Blanco had a great time in Moscow: https://www.facebook...23251292&type=1

Vishneva was recently in Hamburg for the Nijinsky Gala:

PNB just tweeted this link: SF Ballet's Quinn Wharton filmed Jeffrey Cirio and Taras Domitro trying to out-jump each other.

I think it depends on which company and what decade: the first "Raymonda"'s I saw were the Bolshoi/Grigorivich version, with Bessmertnova and Semenyaka, both of which were made in the '80's. I don't think the character was unsympathetic in the 1980 Kirov/Kolpakova version, either, even if it didn't have the mesmerizing Taranda in it. I find Nureyev's version unwatchable for the most part.

In all the versions I've seen, Aberakhman is a sympathetic and much more interesting character. Jean de Brienne reminds me of a character in a romance novel I read in college: he sees the heroine bathing in the woods and falls in love and lust with her, but then when he, a noblewoman, finds out she's a noblewoman, he becomes all formal, and she runs away to join the Navy, because she wants passion that he thinks is only for servants.

I think "Giselle" needs a conductor who believes in the score. If the conductor doesn't, then this will impact what's on stage, almost as much as mucking with the tempi.

"Not considered a sophisticated musical composition" by whom? Marian Smith, a music professor and scholar in Oregon, has argued convincingly in "Ballet and Opera in the Age of Giselle" about the merits of the score, and when the original orchestrations and tempi are used, and especially when the ballet isn't chopped and excerpted like it usually is, the way the music illuminates the libretto, mime, and dancing is exceptional.

Thanks to a heads up! from sandik: Ariana Lallone is teaching this week at Grand Rapids Ballet Company's summer program, according to their June 2012 Newsletter. Maria Kowrowski taught last week.

Thank you so much! Last year the apprentice contracts started around PD student/corps/apprentice indentured servitude "Nutcracker" time, so it makes sense that Franzkonis and Macy remain PD students until then. Congratulations to them both! I saw Frantziskonis dance Butterfly with Jordan Veit in the beautiful opening divertissement -- a ballet in itself -- in Bruce Wells' "Snow White," and she was gorgeous in it. If "Breaking Pointe" gets renewed, maybe we'll see Veit in it next season. I haven't seen the program in a few years, but I remember when most, if not all, of the L7 and 8 students were listed as going to college. Seven going on to high professional training or training positions is great.

Today I've received several matching grant fundraising emails extending the deadline from 30 June due to the storms and power outages on the East cost.

Thank you so much for this! I was sad that I wasn't able to go Did the program list where the graduating PD students will be next year?

I don't think anyone was surprised about a match, just the desperate-sounding tone, based on the dollar amount.

A lot of people showed up to get signed posters: From Maria Kochetkova's tweet from yesterday.

This is a link to the article in the "Miami Herald." http://www.miamihera...e-director.html It's very good news for the Company that Michael Kaiser has been hired as a consultant, but the article makes it sound as if it was a board decision and doesn't mention Lopez in the decision-making process. It's possible that the board is leaving her name out of it to provide a bit of a clean slate, but, regardless, I think that Lopez has her work cut out for her.

Marc Haegeman has published a group of photos from the day before --Allash, Tsiskaridze, Lobukhin -- and the day of the HD performance -- Alexandrova, Skvortsov, Dmitrichenko: http://www.for-balle...monda-2012.html