Helene

Excuse me, but everyone knows that it was choreographed by Kermit. Morphoses has/had a different mission, and I'd expect Lopez to further that mission when that was her job. Well, Peter Boal spent his entire NYCB career dancing for Peter Martins and I think the general consensus is that he turned out OK. What's more, he left NYCB for a time to dance elsewhere and throughout his career took on roles created by choreographers who work well outside of the classical ballet idiom -- Molissa Fenley and Ulysses Dove, e.g. I'm guessing that Boal's exposure to contemporary rep -- both as dancer and AD -- is considerably more extensive that Lopez's. But the general consensus is that PNB should be dancing works by Fenley, Dove, Goecke, and Quijada, for example, and believes Boal when he says in a Q&A that Quijada's vocabulary, which, while not seen in the classroom, is the extension of ballet vocabulary. That's not to say some of these works, and Lopez Ochoa's co-commission with Olivier Wevers' Whim W'him "Cylindrical Shadows" aren't beautiful dance works, although the Lopez Ochoa lost too much on the big stage. They're not ballet, and the question is whether and how much a ballet company should dance not ballet. An MCB / Morphoses partnership -- I wonder how that would work? Morphoses still a laboratory for new dance run on a "curatorial" model, but now with a more-or-less stable roster of dancers recruited from MCB during the off season, with performances scheduled for venues outside of Florida? A run at Aspen, a week at the Joyce, etc ... I wonder if she's trying to save the roster/livelihoods with this idea. I saw this myself in Vancouver recently when they performed "Don Quixote". Worth every penny. While I've seen larger companies do Act III (POB, SFB with 70+6 apprentices), I've also seen Ballet Arizona (26+4 apprentices) perform a suite from Act III and do a superb job of it. While it might not be an example of democracy in action, it's got two Principals, four soloists, and a male quartet, and gives plenty of work to a lot of dancers, and is a great closer and a great appetizer, thematically and technically for an upcoming full-length.

Congratulations to Ms. Lopez MCB has presented "Don Q" and "Giselle", two works with which National Ballet of Cuba are associated. Coaching is often in short supply in NA companies, and the company could use the deep resources of the Cuban ballet community in Miami for that purpose.

And people who like her will look forward to seeing her on the cast list.

One of my favorite musical April Fool's Day hoaxes was in Robertson Davies' novel "Lyre of Orpheus", in which the young, contemporary composer Hulda Schnakenburg composed a piece in which the tenor's larynx was constricted with, if I remember correctly, duct tape, and many didn't notice the date on which the piece was performed.

The "Sapphires" section was supposed to be for Melissa Hayden and Arthur Mitchell. When it was dropped, Hayden took that as a sign that she wasn't important to Balanchine anymore. She had been often his second choice, anyway, either as a substitute for dancers who had become ill or injured before his premieres, like for Titania in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" or taking over Tallchief's roles when new ones were made for the dancer. My first thought reading this was that Hayden's spirit would be awakened by this news.

Perhaps to see the dancing and the choreography? I've never gone to an opera or ballet simply to see the sets and costumes, although I've often enjoyed them.

The Seattle Times is the official bearer of sad news: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artspage/2017876162_lucien_postlewaite_to_leave_pnb.html?prmid=head_main According to the article, he "will be honored in the "Season Encore" end-of-year performance in June." There are so many roles that could be part of this celebration of his career with PNB.

That's great news for people who will see Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, and very sad news for Seattle. to Mr. Postlewaite on this next phase of his career.

The live is full coverage with the extremely knowledgeable and insightful PJ Kwong. Prime time is an excerpts show with Brenda Irving, Tracy Wilson, and I think Rod Black. I'm now watching the PVRed full coverage of the Pairs SP, and then onto the Dance SD's. I'll be caught up by World Team Trophy time.

Oh, I wish I were in Nice, for the skating and for the weather that would make going into a cold rink a compromise!

According to the press release, three 2012 Izzies were awarded for San Francisco Ballet productions: Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Individual Sofiane Sylve,Symphony in C, “2nd movement, choreography by George Balanchine, performed by the San Francisco Ballet at tthe Stern Grove Festival Outstanding Achievement in Restaging / Revival / Reconstruction Antoine Vereecken, restaging of Chroma by Wayne McGregor (2006), performed by San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House Special Award Honorees Lorena Feijoo, Maria Kochetkova, Yuan Yuan Tan, Sarah Van Patten, & Vanessa Zahorian – “The Many Faces of Giselle” - for 5 stellar interpretations of the title role in the quintessential romantic ballet Giselle, performed by the San Francisco Ballet at the War Memorial Opera House

Here is the press release announcing the winners of the awards (emphasis in blue [mine] = ballet): 2012 ISADORA DUNCAN DANCE AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT 26th ANNUAL CEREMONY IN SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco, California, March 26, 2012 - - The winners of the 2012 Isadora Duncan Dance Awards were announced tonight at a ceremony featuring luminaries from the local, national and international dance communities Hosting the ceremony at ODC Theater in San Francisco were the celebrated choreographer Val Caniparoli and Denise Pate, Cultural Funding Coordinator for the City of Oakland's Cultural Funding Program. Among those presenting awards were Edward Villella, Founding Artistic Director of the Miami City Ballet and former New York City Ballet dancer; choreographer Scott Wells, Artistic Director of Scott Wells & Dancers; KT Nelson, choreographer and Co-Artistic Director of ODC; former San Francisco Ballet ballerina Joanna Berman; choreographer Sara Shelton Mann, founding Artistic Director of Contraband; Rudi Soriano, choreographer and Artistic Director of Likha Pilipino Folk Ensemble; filmmaker and cinematographer Austin Forbord; Carlos Carvajal, Artistic Director of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival; Rob Bailis, former Theater Director of ODC; composer, musician Joan Jenrenaud and flamenco singer Kina Mendez. The following is the list of Izzie Award winners by award category. Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Company The Dancers of Terra Incognita, Revisited, performed for the West Wave Festival at Z Space. Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Ensemble Katie Faulkner and Brandon “Private” Freeman, Until We Know For Sure, choreography by Katie Faulkner, performed at The A.W.A.R.D Show, at ODC Theater Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Individual Sofiane Sylve, Symphony in C, “2nd movement, choreography by George Balanchine, performed by the San Francisco Ballet at the Stern Grove Festival Outstanding Achievement in Choreography Alex Ketley, Kara Davis, Katie Faulkner, Manuelito Biag, Terra Incognita, Revisited, performed in the West Wave Festival at Z Space Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text Zakir Hussain, Music for Scheherazade, choreography by Alonzo King, performed by Alonzo King LINES Ballet at the Novellus Theater Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design Axel Morgenthaler, Lighting Design; Robert Rosenwasser, Set Design; Colleen Quen, Costume Design, Scheherazade, choreography by Alonzo King, performed by Alonzo King LINES Ballet, at Novellus Theater Christopher Haas, Set Design, Triangle of the Squinches, choreography by Alonzo King, performed by Alonzo King LINES Ballet at Novellus Theater Enrico Labayen, Costumes & Visual Design, En-Gulfed, choreography by Enrico Labayen, performed by Labayen Dance/SF, at Dance Mission Theater Outstanding Achievement in Restaging / Revival / Reconstruction Antoine Vereecken, restaging of Chroma by Wayne McGregor (2006), performed by San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House Special Award Honorees Lorena Feijoo, Maria Kochetkova, Yuan Yuan Tan, Sarah Van Patten, & Vanessa Zahorian – “The Many Faces of Giselle” - for 5 stellar interpretations of the title role in the quintessential romantic ballet Giselle, performed by the San Francisco Ballet at the War Memorial Opera House Nina Menendez and The Bay Area Flamenco Partnership – for the 2010 Festival Flamenco Gitano which presented two multi-generational families of flamenco artists from the Spanish gypsy community of Andalucia. Patty-Ann Farrell – for her lighting designs for the 33rd San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival at the Novellus Theater, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Sustained Achievement Honorees Deborah DuBowy and Words on Dance - for 18 years of presenting celebrated dance artists with the opportunity to speak about their careers and share their passion for dance with the larger dance community Cathleen McCarthy and Joan Lazarus and West Wave Dance - for 20 years of presenting groundbreaking dance in the San Francisco Bay Area Dr. James Garrick and The Center for Sports Medicine at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital - for the Saint Francis Dance Medicine practice, created to meet the unique needs of stage performers The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards, known locally as the Izzies, are awarded annually to acknowledge exceptional creative achievements in the performance and presentation of dance. Awards are given in nine categories to honor the dancers, choreographers, designers, composers, dance companies, dance scholars and other individuals who have made important contributions to the San Francisco Bay Area’s thriving dance community. During each 12-month performance cycle, running September 1 – August 31, the Committee collectively views over 400 eligible performances. The final nominees and honorees are selected at an annual voting meeting held in September after the close of the viewing cycle. Member profiles and lists of previous nominees and award winners are available online at www.izzies.org. The Izzies Committee is supported by donations from individuals, groups, the Fleishhacker Foundations, the Zellerbach Family Fund and Wells Fargo Bank. ----- Congratulations to all the winners

"A company staffer who did not want to be named said the troupe’s dancers were torn." This staffer is then quoted as given the pros of both women, and didn't take sides. There's nothing in the article to suggest that this staffer was the source of the leak. Since according to the article, the company is divided on whom they prefer, Villella has promoted Kronenborg, and Lopez is "favored by some executive board members and advisors", it seems that there are lots of people who might feel it is in their side's best interest to leak this. Of course, it could have been leaked by someone to whom any person knowing of the situation confided, and there are a lot of stakeholders in this. The math could go either way. It seemed so odd at the time, but perhaps they thought, in addition to the typical Seattle bias towards transparency, a leak would be inevitable. Boal has told the story several times that he hand-delivered his application on the deadline day, and he was spotted by one of his former students. The company knew immediately why he was there.

Even the most rudimentary tracking for grants list the applications, who worked on them, what was given in the past, if anything, and the result. For mailings and direct appeals, organizations can track which offer working to which segment. The trickier ones come from large personal and non-foundation corporate donations, since it can take years to cultivate the right connection and network, and there can be unacknowledged groundwork or the right set of circumstances that aren't person-specific or replicable. If I remember correctly Violette Verdy directed the Boston Ballet for a short period of time not long after her retirement. Yes, she was. Thank you!

I just saw this article in the Miami Herald: "An MCB spokesperson confirmed that [Jennifer] Kronenberg and [Lourdes] Lopez were the final candidates but said the troupe would not comment." http://www.miamihera...to-replace.html According to the article Kronenberg is Villella's choice. Unlike at PNB, which publicized its five finalists, this news appears to have been leaked. It could be awkward to be known as the runner-up for a top position. Has there ever been a woman who hasn't been a founder or co-founder and who was chosen to run a major US ballet company? Karen Kain is AD of National Ballet of Canada. If Lopez is chosen, I think she'd be the first to not have had a career with the company in question.

Ib Andersen's paintings will be on exhibit at Northern Trust of Arizona, 2398 East Camelback Road, beginning 19 April. http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/stage/articles/2012/03/20/20120320ballet-arizona-director-ib-andersen-paints.html There's a photo of one of his paintings in the article.

There were two things that Balanchine brought directly from the "Nutcracker" he danced when he was at the Imperial Ballet School: the nephew/Prince's mime in Act II and Candycanes.

I don't like Jester variations in "Swan Lake". I dislike almost all of Nureyev's male variations, finding them fussy and overdone. I'm not a fan of Ali in "Le Corsaire" and prefer the variations to be done by Conrad. I never liked the Sugar Plum Fairy variation in the version of "The Nutcracker" that was filmed with Gelsey Kirkland.