Helene

That is an epic piece of music, too. RIP, Mr. LaGuardia.

I think these are the sets from the old production, before the Opera House was remodeled into McCaw Hall, not the current Ming Cho Lee sets and Paul Tazewell costumes. The company lent them to Oregon Ballet Theater when they staged the work, and now it looks like they've made their way further down the coast to LA. Thank you! I thought PNB sold the old "Swan Lake" sets. I didn't realize they kept ownership. I think that this will be an all-Stravinsky program, as well as a tribute to Stowell and Russell. Yes. I forgot to clarify.

cinnamonswirl just linked to the AROP website with the POB schedule for next year on the POB 2012-13 season thread, and Karoui is listed as Direction musicale for the galas for Balanchine Program (24 Sep/3 Oct) and the Tribute to Nureyev (6 Mar).

In Vancouver we lost the feed in the middle of Gulnare's solo with harp during the "Grand pas des eventails." Because on the West Coast, we're not getting a live feed -- there's no way they'd open the theater for an 8am start time -- from the screen that came up, it was clear what happened: they PVR it from the live satellite feed and re-broadcast it, and, for whatever reason, the Bell HD PVR mechanism stopped; this was confirmed by the theater manager. Maybe the third time I see this production will be the charm: "Grand pas des eventails" was cut from the Kennedy Center touring production a few Junes ago, presumably to keep the run-time at three hours to avoid overtime. Too bad it was moved from its original position in the second act (if I understood Ms. Novikova correctly), or we would have seen it! Perhaps the Bell HD PVR is on union time. "The Sleeping Beauty" was a sell-out here, and there were some very dressed-up and disappointed children heading away from the theater when I arrived. The theater was at least at 85% for "Le Corsaire" on the top level. (The first five rows are awful, and I didn't see many people there.) I agree 100% with Marga's description of Lunkina: she's a modest dancer with prima gifts, and she was exquisite. She's also scheduled to dance Zina in "Bright Stream" on the next HD I was lucky enough to see Kaptsova live in DC, and she was even better this afternoon. I also loved Skvortsov: he's such a virile presence, but always elegant. Two details really enthralled me: he is one of the few male dancers who, in preparation for turns in perfect fifth, does not move/turn-in his standing foot as he tendus to the side and ronde de jambs his leg back. More critically, the timing and command of his port de bras is gorgeous: in his Act I Grand Pas solo, at one point preparing for some big technical thing, he gestured back from stillness just a tad behind the beat and pulled me in. I loved all three Odalisques, but was particularly taken with No. 3, the very musical Anna Tikhomirova. Vyacheslav Lopatin was wonderful in the "Pas d'eclaves"; virtuosos who can leap and turn without pushing are my favorite, but he was also an elegant and attentive partner. I was disappointed with Anastasia Stashkevich in the first, fast pas of the "Pas d'eclaves" and in her solo; in allegro, I thought she looked forced and hit beats without much phrasing. She was more interesting to me in the second adagio pas. I adore Andrei Merkuriev's characterization of Birbanto, and the "Danse des forbans" with the spirited Anna Antropova was superb. "Jardin animee" might be the most beautiful dance I've ever seen. I would buy this in a second if it is released. This production is a treasure.

The Bolshoi Ballet website posts casting for the 29 April performance of Bright Stream, the date of the Emerging Pictures HD broadcast: http://www.bolshoi.r...ances/61/roles/ Main roles are: Zina, a local amusements’ organizer: Svetlana Lunkina Pyotr, an agricultural student: Mikhail Lobukhin Ballerina: Maria Alexandrova Ballet Dancer: Ruslan Skvortsov Accordionist: Denis Savin Old Dacha Dweller: Alexei Loparevich Anxious-to-be-younger-than-she-is Dacha Dweller: Anastasia Vinokur

The promised season announcement was published in The Seattle Times today: http://seattletimes....2362_pnb11.html Highlights, in addition to the previously announced ballets: Mark Morris' new ballet will be dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the World's Fair, but not related to it Twyla Tharp will be Artist in Residence for up to eight weeks and will create a new work to be premiered in Fall 2013 The September 2012 (opening) program will be a tribute to Francia Russell ("Agon" staging) and Kent Stowell ("Firebird" choreography) The March program will be Balanchine's "Concerto Barocco", Dove's "Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven", and Tharp's "In the Upper Room" The June program will be "All Tchaikovsky", with the world premiere of a new Wheeldon ballet, and Balanchine's "Allegro Brillante", "Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux", and "Diamonds" Company members Andrew Bartee and Margaret Mullin will also choreograph new works. It isn't spelled out that they will be on the same program as the Gaines* and Gibson works, but, counting programs, that's the only slot left, usually November. Edited to add: *See sandik's post on page 2: the Gaines ballet will be to Stravinsky and appear in the "All Stravinsky" opening program. There are also five tours tentatively scheduled, due to a grant from Raisbeck Engineering and James & Sherry Raisbeck, and they include: Maillot's "Romeo et Juliette" at City Center Spoleto Festival (Italy) Las Vegas Victoria

The sets and costumes for "Swan Lake" have gotten a wake-up for performances by Los Angeles Ballet next week: http://www.burbankle...0,7466124.story

Bumping up this topic, since today's the day of the performance. I hope people who've seen it will post.

Michael Popkin reviews Batsheva Dance Company in "Hora" at Brooklyn Academy of Music for danceviewtimes.

It just occurred to me that "new work" might be new to the company, not the world.

More news in an email sent by the Company: Celebrate with PNB as we honor our past with Swan Lake, Agon, and Roméo et Juliette and leap forward with six new works by choreographers ranging from promising newcomers to the best in the business (Kiyon Gaines, Paul Gibson, Mark Morris, and Christopher Wheeldon, to name a few!). It's felt like forever since Paul Gibson's last work: as Ballet Master he's been the Master Scheduler and indispensable to the company, but I'm glad to see he's making a new work. It will be interesting to see what Wheeldon makes directly on the company. The older works that Boal has acquired have been wonderful; Wheeldon's most recent work has gotten mixed reviews, and it's different to commission than to select, but he's always worth watching. (Edited to add: see below.) The email also says that the full announcement will be in this Sunday's "Seattle Times" and on the PNB website on Monday.

If anyone has any news, please let us know, with a link.

Many thanks for posting the news!

Here's an overview -- not a word-for-word translation -- with the help of Bing translator; please correct where I've gone astray: Polina Seminova, First Soloist of the Berlin Staatsballet, asked to be released early from her contract, which had been extended through the summer of 2013, at the end of this season. With sadness/regret, Intendant Vladimir Malakhov agreed (to let her go,) and the company will respect her decision. Malakhov discovered her at the Bolshoi School, recognizing that she was a major talent. He hired her into the company directly as First Soloist when she was 17. Since her first season [with the company] in 2002-3, Malakhov drove her artistic development and entrusted her with major roles in the repertoire -- for example, Odette/Odile and Tatiana ["Onegin"] -- and brought her to the attention of guest choreographers. These worldwide connections opened the door for her international career, which she developed from an early stage.