Helene

It's hard to keep reading after "Ratmansky." It's easier when you're typing it

I loved the "Monumentum"/"Movements" the company did to end the 2010-11 season, just gorgeous. I admit to dismay at seeing "Western Symphony" on the schedule, but I know they can do it, and casting it in my head brings a smile to my face, even if I don't like the ballet. The "Director's Choice" program is also the opportunity to see what Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's Alejandro Cerrudo does for a ballet company before the Nureyev Prize commission for PNB the following season.

Ballet Arizona's 2012-13 Season is: Giselle, 1-4 November 2012, with matinee and evening performances on Saturday and Sunday 3-4 November. Nutcracker, 7-24 December 2012 Romeo and Juliet, 14-17 February 2013, with matinee and evening performances on Saturday and Sunday, 16-17 February. Director's Choice, 28-31 March 2013, Orpheum Theatre "Le Carnaval des Animaux," choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, music by Camille Saint-Saens "Diversions," choreography by Ib Andersen, music by Benjamin Britten Untitled, choreography by Alejandro Cerrudo (World Premiere), music TBA [*]All Balanchine, 2-5 May 2013 Serenade (Tchaikovsky) Momumentum pro Gesualdo/Movements for Piano and Orchestra (Stravinsky) Western Symphony (traditional, arrangements by Hershey Kay) "Diversions" was the ballet the company performed at the Kennedy Center in 2010.

A beautiful photo by Marc Haegeman, posted to the For Ballet Lovers Only Facebook group:

It was based on a TV jingle, and from what I read, the premises -- musical and thematic -- were weak, and it ran out of gas. It might have worked if it was part of a short work for a special occasion, like in front of the Pan Am building, like the work Balanchine did for a World's Fair.

I always remember Joseph Mazo's lines about Conrad Ludlow, "At his age, Conrad knows what he needs, what he can do, and what makes him happy. He works, enjoys it, and goes home to his family." After reading about what a gentleman he was, I always hoped that he had a great family, and I'm sorry it took the death of his wife to get confirmation that he did.

More sad news. Rest in peace, Mrs. Ludlow.

Wasn't it Allison who says in the beginning that Rex told her the three people you shouldn't piss off are the conductor, the costume person, and the director? Great set-up for the rest of the show where Allison proceeds to do just that. On the other hand, Kunikova, with her lovely manner, keeps asking the conductor politely to slow it down, and the way it's filmed, he ignores her as well. I know everyone's tired, but wouldn't it be professional courtesy to let the dancers with the craziest rehearsal schedules to go ahead during costume fittings? Allison has said that she is to make up for lost time, the years she didn't do ballet after being professionally trained. It's not like she took a year off -- it was a big gap -- and it's pretty amazing, giving the competition out there and the few positions that she was able to make up enough not only to get a job, but to be demi-soloist, since most of the people in the company are at the age where she missed dancing.

In response to the same question about PNB, Peter Boal once said in a Q&A that the unofficial top three are NYCB, ABT, and San Francisco Ballet, and everyone else is fighting to be recognized as fourth. All of the "Big Three" are significantly larger than the other companies: SFB, the smallest, with 77 dancers, has 35 corps and six apprentices. and 41 is more than the total size of many mid-size companies: Ballet West has 37 dancers in total , Ballet Arizona has 29, PNB has 46, MCB 44, Joffrey has 42, and Pennsylvania Ballet 36. San Francisco Ballet has the advantages of having been the oldest company in the US -- the oldest of the Children of Balanchine -- and having taken the bull by the horns to get international recognition, because before there was a "Top 3", there was a "Top Two," and now SFB has gotten tour reviews stronger than either NYCB or ABT. Whatever the merits of the show, Ballet West has put itself on the map nationally. They are also having a contest to win a 30-minute video chat with a cast member, which is tax-deductible to all but the winner. (The website doesn't say who chooses.) The drawing is on 9th July: http://www.balletwest.org/win-a-chat

In tonight's episode, Sandra Jennings was identified as the "Emeralds" stager. There were scenes of her watching the final studio run-throughs, and she was mentioned as well as having type on screen to ID her. Roslyn Anderson coached "Petite Mort", and she was filmed speaking a couple of times. Kunikova was also in this episode, coaching "Paquita." There were some long discussions among the dancers and in the on camera quotes about tempo, since the conductor was shown conducting the pianist.

That's a great report, SimonA! It never occurred to me that there would be such a variation in the quality of the tapes, as opposed to the filming.

This is such sad news. I had the honor to meet him a few years ago, and I think his writing shows not only the brilliant observer and writer, but also the humanity and the mensch. My condolences to his wife, Judith, who also writes for danceviewtimes, and to the world's ballet community. Rest in peace, Mr. Percival.

Ain't that the truth.

Leigh Witchel has created a great new public Facebook Page called Leigh Witchel -- Writings on Dance in which he writes about dance and writing about dance. It's open to Facebook users to "Like".

I think this is overly optimistic, but wish it were true, particularly about Salt Lake City. I wouldn't blame the NYC press entirely, though: Alastair Macaulay has made it a point of traveling to see many American companies and writing about them for the Times, often with appreciation, and while Leigh Witchel writes about NY dance events for the Post, he writes in many other publications, like Ballet Review, about companies to which he's traveled to see.

In 2010, Bronwen Parker-Rhodes launched a Kickstarter project to fund a documentary of San Francisco Ballet ballerina Maria Kochetkova 'as she prepares for a performance of a new solo work at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. This is a rare opportunity to document the creation of a new ballet by world renowned artists and will provide a behind the scenes portrait of the life of a ballet dancer." That film, called "Masha" will have a preview screening at the Vogue Theatre in San Francisco on 10 July at 7:30pm, and according to its Facebook entry: Exclusive preview screening of 'Masha' documentary following my participation in the Bolshoi's 'Reflections' project. Buy tickets ($10 discount for first 50 tickets with promo code 'bolshoi'): http://masha.eventbrite.com/

Ticket revenues themselves are part of the equation, but, for the bottom line, the cost savings, too, have to be taken into consideration: lower house staff labor costs being the main one, and possibly fewer programs printed.

This is an excellent point, bart. Rather than just give money away, Bill Gates has Microsoft use corporate matches for the annual fund and charitable (501-c-3) giving throughout the year, and the last time I checked, it was up to $12K per person/year. His parents were philanthropists, and because of his approach, Microsoft created tens of thousands of new donors over the decades, many of whom had no family history of charity apart from church donations. The figure that's usually thrown around is that it takes three generations of wealth for philanthropy to kick in, and his initiative went straight to the source. At PNB a few times a year they have cash boxes in the lobby to raise money for Second Stage, the program that helps dancer with education, business creation, and training so that they are ready for jobs outside ballet, and for PNB. At first I thought it was odd, but it covers people who want to drop in $3 as well as people who want to donate, but don't want their name on a list to be solicited for years and years.

Sunday, 10 June matinee Q&A with Leta Biasucci and James Moore (Swanhilde and Franz), moderated by Peter Boal. Boal noted that in the last performance, "Everyone was adding choreography, even the bell ringers." He said that the dancers will be back in a week to rehearse for the "All Tharp" program that the company will perform at the Spoletto Festival, and to a question about the initials on the bells, he answered that two (LD and GB) were for Delibes and Balanchine, and the other four were the initials of major patrons, three from Seattle and one from San Francisco. [PNB's partner in the co-production was San Francisco Ballet, and they performed it superbly last season.] In the original production, some of the initials were the performers' in original cast. Someone asked about Carla Korbes, who was injured during the "Apollo/Carmina Burana" rep, and Boal said that Seth Orza had an injury, and Korbes lost her Swanhilde. He later said that originally, Leta Biasucci was cast with Kyle Davis, and Liora Reshef with James Moore, and that he expected the Biasucci/Davis cast to do only an outreach performance. [Maybe Discover Dance]. However, Reshef was injured and couldn't dance. Both dancers were asked about their background. James Moore was a member of Pittsburgh Ballet before PNB, and when asked if he was a Steelers fan, he said "Yes", and Leta Biasucci was with Oregon Ballet Theatre for three years [before joining PNB this year]. Someone asked if we would ever see same-sex marriages in Act III. Boal said that in Ezra Thomson's new ballet [in the Next Step program, performed last weekend], three women are pining over shoes, representing their partners, and when the "Men" come in, one of them is a woman. Biasucci was asked how much notice she had before dancing "Coppelia" [on the main stage], and she said "2 weeks." She had done the role when she was 15 at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB), where she trained, for the school show. While it was a different staging, she knew the story and the character. James Moore's mother and little sister, and Leta Biasucci's parents and aunt and uncle were in the audience [performance and Q&A]. Boal mentioned that Benjamin Griffiths had five grandmothers at the Q&A the night before. Gigi Berardi from "Dance Magazine" asked Biasucci what it was like going in and out of Principal roles. [For background: Biasucci danced a major role in most of the season's reps: ingenue in "Variations Serieuses" in the season-opener "All Wheeldon" program, lead in "Divertimento from 'Baiser de la fee'" in the "Love Stories" program, Amor in "Don Quixote", "Primo Vere" in "Carmina Burana," and Swanhilde in "Coppelia". At the same time, she danced corps and demi-soloist roles all year, often in different performances of the same ballets in which she danced leads.] Biasucci answered that it was "incredibly exiting" and "nerve-wracking," and said it was a "huge opportunity" to be asked to substitute in Doug Fullington's "After Petipa" presentation at the Guggenheim. She said that when she was feeling nervous, she told herself that she was going to do it whether she was nervous or not, so she calmed herself down. Boal said that one of the reasons he cast her, was that he saw that when she did the role of the ingenue in "Variations Serieuses", also in a short time, he was impressed with her confidence and grace under pressure, and he said he can see in class when dancers have stamina and technique. Boal said that all three new dancers who joined the company this season [from the outside] -- Elizabeth Murphy, Matthew Renko, and Biasucci -- "found their places in the company in a nice way." [Josh Grant returned to the company, and the other new dancers were apprentices turned corps and new apprentices.] When asked what they look forward to next season, Moore said the new Christopher Wheeldon and "Romeo et Juliette" and Biasucci said those and "Diamonds." When asked about new works, Peter Boal mentioned finances. He said that for the Next Step program, where six company dancers choreographed for the Professional Division students, cost $5-6K for all six ballets. He said that commissions from Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, and Christopher Wheeldon cost more than $100K. [He might have said for all three or for each, but I was too busy picking up my pen and my jaw from the floor.] Boal said that Kent Stowell felt his production of "Coppelia" was patchy, and that he even matched roles to the costumes he had, and Stowell told him that the company could use a new version. Someone asked if Leta Biasucci would dance Juliette next year, and Boal said that he has others for the role, but he also didn't expect her to be Swanhilde. One question was about how is rehearsed, and the answer was, the dancers learn pantomime the same way they learn choreography. When asked about watching themselves on tape, James Moore said that it could "freak him out", because "sometimes it feels better than it looks." About his training, Moore studied at San Francisco Ballet School from ages 11-18, and that there was nice continuity have the same teachers throughout. The dancers were asked about competition, and James Moore said that you compete with yourself to improve, and that if you're ready, Peter Boal is good about giving them [the roles]. Boal said there was "positive competition" in the Company, and the dancers were really supportive of each other in the wings. The discussion turned to "Black Swan" and how much it reflected reality. Peter Boal quipped, "Directors are really like that." James Moore said that the movie was dramatic, and reality was not that hardcore or cutthroat. He said it can get intense and stressful sometimes, but that at a certain level, you want your friends to do well. Asked to compare how the extremes of "Mopey" and Franz informed him as a dancer, Moore said that SFB was a very classical company, and he dreamed of doing those roles. When he came to PNB, his first big roles were contemporary [he was featured in "Mopey," "State of Darkness," and "Kiss," for example], and then he got chances to dance classical roles. The dancers were asked to what they aspired. Biasucci said that she reminds herself when she's tired or hurting that she's living the dream. Moore said that it's tough when you're hurting and want to stay in bed, but that you find the energy and motivation, and then you're fine. He spoke about being aware with what's happening right now.

I went to two Q&A's on the second weekend, and here are my (legible) notes from the first: Saturday, 9 June matinee, with Kaori Nakamura and Jonathan Porretta (Swanhilde and Franz), moderated by Otto Neubert Neubert broke the ice by telling us that "We're going to need a lot of help today, because Jonathan is very shy." Porretta started by saying that he loves to partner Nakamura: she's the easiest partner in the world, and she teaches him something every time they dance together. Nakamura said she loves dancing with Porretta. When asked how long they've danced together, they answered 14 years, and Porretta explained to the questioner that partners change per rep. When asked about what it is like dancing matinees -- both danced opening night first weekend as well -- Nakamura said that it's more relaxed. Porretta said that they go from class directly to the show, and that there's good energy. Asked about their favorite ballets, Nakamura answered that she loves full-length ballets, like "Coppelia" and "Giselle", and they both talked about how they get to spend more time rehearsing them [than mixed rep ballets]. Porretta elaborated that they spend more time developing their technique, acting skills, and partnering, and explained that they don't partner in class every day. He mentioned "Prodigal Son," "in the middle, somewhat elevated," and "A Million Kisses to My Skin" as some of his current favorites. [it showed in his performance of the excerpt from the last ballet in the Encores program Sunday night.] The were asked what was most demanding about "Coppelia". Nakamura answered, the combination of acting and technique, and stamina, especially by the end of Act III. Porretta said he celebrates backstage after the double-tours sequence in his Act III variation. Neubert talked about how difficult it is for Franz to sit in the chair for most of Act II -- normally the lead gets to disappear and warm up -- and mentioned that Helgi Tomasson used a warm cushion on the chair when he did the part. There were kudos from the dancers to the "amazing stage crew." One of the three mentioned that Jeffrey Stanton has been teaching a lot and doing some guesting this year. When asked what roles he'd be doing next year, Porretta said that he'd be doing his jester roles, and when asked why, he said that he doesn't dance or look like a prince, and that he's too short to do those roles, but kidded, "My roles are better." They were asked about eating during the performances. Both Nakamura and Porretta drink water, but said that other dancers snack. They were also asked if there were concerns when the kids -- the 24 girls, ages 8-15, who dance in Act III -- are dancing. All three looked a bit puzzled by that, and I think it was Porretta who asked, "Like watching your language?" and then he said, "We have Otto backstage." Neubert, who serves as Ballet Master for the children as well as the Company, then spoke about the "little people": He said it was amazing what they do, and that if you give them responsibility and rehearse them enough, they will do their jobs: they are the only constant in the ballet. He said that Kent Stowell used to say to the dancers, "If you don't know what to do, ask the children. They will know what to do." Asked what a Ballet Master is [obviously the questioner didn't read Stephen Manes' book], Neubert answered: teach class, rehearse the ballets, assist the choreographers, take notes so that the next time the ballet is performed, he can bring the dancers up to speed for the Artistic Director, and, speaking to the dancers, "giving you guys a hard time." He also does roles; Porretta said, "That's because he's so good at acting," and they spoke a little about performing Don Quixote and Sancho Panza together in the Ratmansky "Don Q" [this past February, and they were dynamite together]. Porretta and Nakamura both started to dance at 7. Porretta did the gamut -- ballet, jazz, tap, etc. -- and gradually went from twice a week to three times a week to every day. Asked what is the most difficult part, I think it was Porretta who answered that there were so many, including keeping the legs turned out and toes pointed all the time. Neubert then said that it is different for each dancer, and each works on different aspects of technique. He said people confuse ability and technique, and that it's technique that prolongs a dancer's career. I think it was Porretta who answered the question "What surprised you most about becoming a professional dancer" with "It was harder than I thought. As a student, taking so many classes, I thought it would be easier [than being a student]." There were lots of kids at the Q&A, and Porretta was an absolute sweetheart answering their questions.

Many thanks for the highlights of the review, Natalia!

Thank you so much for the news and video -- she looked so surprised! I loved her dancing when I saw her in Paris a few years ago. Congratulations, to Ms. Ould Braham

Many thanks for the link, Lidewij!

I will definitely keep my eyes peeled -- thank you ksk04!

I so hope this makes it to DVD, because, so far, there are no repeats scheduled in Vancouver, at least yet, and it doesn't even play in Seattle proper.