Helene

2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Through 2006 2012 Rudolf Nureyev and Elizabeth Taylor Dancing at a Party (Added 9 Jan 12) Natalia Makarova's Wedding to Edward Karkar, with Mikhail Baryshnikov Holding Makarova's Crown (Added 9 Jan 12) Ludmila Semenyaka and Maris Liepa in Giselle (Added 9 Jan 12) Bess Truman with ABT Pas de Quatre Cast: Ady Addor, Alicia Alonso, Ruth Ann Koesun and Lupe Serrano (Added 9 Jan 12) Nora Kaye and Hugh Laing in Romeo and Juliet (Added 9 Jan 12) Nora Kaye and Hugh Laing as Caroline and Her Lover in Jardin aux lilacs (Added 9 Jan 12) Hugh Laing as Romeo in Tudor's Romeo and Juliet (Added 9 Jan 12) David Lichine in Nijinsky's L'Apres-midi d'un faune (Added 17 Jan 12) Tanaquil LeClercq and Francisco Moncion in Jerome Robbins' Afternoon of a Faun (Added 6 Feb 12) Five Cupids for Valentine's Day (Added 14 Feb 12) Ghislaine Thesmar, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Frederic Franklin in Rehearsal for The Prodigal Son (Added 2 Mar 12) Ghislaine Thesmar as The Siren and Mikhail Baryshnikov as "The Prodigal Son" (Added 3 Mar 12) Thesmar and Baryshnikov in Rehearsal with (Partial) Corps in The Prodigal Son (Added 3 Mar 12) Franklin Rehearsing Baryshnikov and Corps in The Prodigal Son (Added 3 Mar 12) Marie Vernon (Added 9 Mar 12) Patricia McBride in the Original Costume for Rubies (Added 13 Mar 12) Ghislaine Thesmar Before NYCB Debut in the 1976 Ravel Festival (Added 13 Mar 12) Nadia Nerina (Added 27 Mar 12) Nora Kaye in Fascimile (Added 9 Apr 12) YAGP Gala Honoring Natalia Makarova (Added 29 Apr 12) Lucia Chase as Giselle (Added 22 May 12) Alicia Alonso and What Is Left of Igor Youskevitch in Theme and Variations (Added 3 Jun 12) Galina Ulanova Publicity Still (Added 10 Jul 12) Publicity Shot of Mikhail Baryshnikov (Added 16 Jul 12) Eugene Loring in The Great American Goof (Added 16 Jul 12) Nijinska and Max Reinhardt (Added 16 Jul 12) Svetlana Beriosova in Ashton's Casse Noisette (Added 16 July 12) Melissa Hayden in Bourree Fantasque (Added 16 July 12) Anna Pavlova (Added 13 Aug 12) Suzanne Farrell and Peter Martins in Diamonds (Added 20 Aug 12) Suzanne Farrell and Jacques d'Amboise in Diamonds (Added 20 Aug 12) The Ballet Russe Girls Arrive in NYC on the SS Georgia: Krasovska, Slavenska, Theilande, Markova, Danilova and Toumanova (Added 24 Aug 12) Emma Livry (Added 4 Sep 12) Mariia Sergeevna Surovshchikova Petipa in Paris Opera Semiramis (Added 4 Sep 12) Kay Mazzo and John Prinz, Dances at a Gathering (Added 18 Sep 12) Yvonne Mounsey (Added 1 Oct 12) Tamara Toumanova (Left and Center) (Added 11 Oct 12) Marina Semyonova (Right) (Added 11 Oct 12) Paul Taylor and 3 Epitaths (Added 31 Oct 12) Shaun O'Brien as Léandre, Wealthy Suitor to Columbine, in Harlequinade (Added 10 Nov 12) Violette Verdy in Liebeslieder Walzer (Added 10 Nov 12) Balanchine's Alma Mater (Added 18 Nov 12) Alicia Alonso and John Kriza in Don Quixote (Added 23 Nov 12) Corps Members of the Paris Opera Ballet at the Turn of the 20th Century: "Mmes Hugon, Souplet, and Labatoux" (Added 24 Nov 12) Lynn Seymour and Donald McLeary in Swan Lake (Added 25 Nov 12) Marfa Muravyeva in the 1863 Revival of Giselle (Added 4 Dec 12) From Sadler's Wells Ballet to Royal Ballet (Added 11 Dec 12) John Kriza in Last Act Pas de Deux from Don Quixote (Added 12 Dec 12) Inna Borisovna (Izraieleva) Zubkovskaya as Odile (Added 15 Dec 12) Alla Sizova and Mikhail Baryshnikov in Coppelia (Added 22 Dec 12) Rudolf Nureyev in Les Sylphides (Added 22 Dec 12) Mouse Rabbit with Drummer from The Nutcracker (Added 24 Dec 12) Lew Christensen and Partner in the Pas de Deux from Apollo (Added 27 Dec 12) Asaf and Sulamith Messerer (Added 27 Dec 12) Ruthanna Boris, Rita De Laporte, and Louise Fornaca (Added 27 Dec) Yuri Soloviev for 1964 Tour to Madison Square Garden (Added 27 Dec)

Alexei Ratmansky leads a rehearsal of "Don Quixote", with some casting hints: Carla Korbes Rachel Foster Laura Gilbreath (yellow), Kylee Kitchens (light blue), Lindsi Dec (black) Maria Chapman (teal), Foster (Blue), Korbes (with tutu) While he's speaking about 2/3 in, Sarah Ricard Orza is to his right, and I think that was Margaret Mullin to his left. Mullin suffered an injury right before the Princess Grace Award ceremony, and hopefully, this means she's back. ETA: They're rehearsing the Dream Scene from Act II. In the HNB video, the roles would be Korbes=Kitri, Foster=Cupid, and Chapman=Queen of the Dryads. Gilbreath, Kitchens, and Dec are the three demi-soloists in the section before the jumping diagonals.

Balanchine also felt a moral obligation to support Tanaquil Leclerq until her death through royalties on a number of his ballets.

Cunningham had ample opportunity to observe what happened to other dance companies once their founding choreographers died, and also what happened to the rep those choreographers. That includes modern and, for example, NYCB and Joffrey Ballet. Perhaps he didn't want to see the same happen to his work, frustrating that it is.

Here's the press release: February 3, 4 and 9–11 at 7:30 pm February 4, 5, 11 & 12 at 1:00 pm February 12 at 7:00 pm (Please note that all matinee begin at 1:00 pm) SEATTLE, WA – Pacific Northwest Ballet is honored to present the American Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s spectacular, full-length Don Quixote. The largest production ever presented in PNB’s history, Don Q runs from February 3 through 12, 2012 at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $28 and may be purchased by calling 206.441.2424, in person at the PNB Box Office at 301 Mercer Street, or online at www.pnb.org. Ratmansky’s production, created for Dutch National Ballet in 2010, has been hailed as “the best version of this ballet…exciting and hot-blooded dance” (De Telegraaf). The immensely popular story ballet combines Ratmansky’s acclaimed Russian fluency with classical tradition, lush sets and costumes, Ludwig Minkus’ rousing score (featuring the mighty PNB Orchestra), and legendary technical feats. Don Q's bravura classical dances showcase soloist virtuosity as dramatically as its mime and humor reveal accomplished character players. At the center of the ballet’s passionate Castilian heart, Minkus' score endows each scene with rich atmosphere, deepened by Jérôme Kaplan’s (Roméo et Juliette) vibrant costumes and amber-washed sets. All elements combine with Ratmansky's innately expressive movement to treat theater-lovers of all ages to a breathtaking theatrical experience. Brimming with wit and romance, Don Q follows Spain’s legendary hero Don Quixote and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, to the famed city of Barcelona on a quest for his dream lover, Dulcinea. Instead, he meets the high-spirited Kitri whose father would rather she marry a rich fool than the penniless but dashing Basilio. The couple takes flight and their adventures, reflected by the Don’s visions, fill the stage with teaming street life, the cadence of castanets and tambourines, flashing fans, and whirling matadors. Emmy Award-winning actor Tom Skerritt (“Picket Fences”) – who, in addition to roles in such films as Top Gun, Alien and Steel Magnolias, played a former ballet dancer in the hit film The Turning Point -- makes his ballet debut in the lead role of Don Quixote. His devoted squire, Sancho Panza, will be played by Allen Galli, familiar to Seattle audiences from 30 years of appearances with every major local theatre company, including a previous stint as Sancho Panza in Village Theatre’s Man of La Mancha. (The roles of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza will be played by PNB ballet master Otto Neubert and principal dancer Jonathan Porretta, respectively, at the Saturday February 4 and 11 matinees, and the “Eyes On Dance” school performance.) Don Quixote is the largest production in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s history. The production originally cost Dutch National Ballet $3 million to build, and will cost PNB $860,000 to premiere. Other factoids: · Don Q is so expansive that it requires 2,200 square feet of dancing space on stage; most of PNB’s story ballets require just 1,700 – 1,800 square feet. · Eight shipping containers were required to transport the elaborate sets and costumes from Amsterdam to Seattle. · More lumber and other building materials were used to construct the ballet than were used to create PNB’s Coppélia, Cinderella and The Sleeping Beauty, combined. · The production utilizes 280 costumes and props, including 47 wigs and hairpieces, requiring the work of eight hair and make-up artists at each performance. (PNB’s company is about half the size of Dutch National Ballet: Some dancers will change costumes up to five times in one performance.) · The hats worn by the Torreadors are authentic matador hats made in Madrid. · The masks for the six monsters in Don Q were made by a company that worked on the Lord of the Rings movies. (For full Don Q program notes, click here or visit pnb.org.)

Here's an interview with PNB Technical Director Norbert Herriges on Don Quixote in PNB's blog: http://blog.pnb.org/2012/01/don-q-behind-scenes-interview-with.html

Price Suddarth was named one of Dance Magazine's "2012 25 to Watch": http://dancemagazine.com/issues/January-2012/2012-25-To-Watch

Ballet Arizona will perform Arististic Director Ib Andersen's full-length ballet "Play" at the Joyce Theater: Wed 22 February 7:30pm Thu 23 February 8pm Fri 24 February 8pm Sat 25 February 2pm and 8pm Sun 26 February 2pm Dance Chat: Thur 24 February http://www.joyce.org/performancestickets/calendar_detail.php?event=423&theater=1 http://newyork.timeout.com/arts-culture/dance/2428197/ballet-arizona

The long-time fans, especially the Fourth Ring set, have been long-time critics of the Martins administration, and splitting up the social groups in the cheap seats and driving away the complainers could dampen the opposition. Even if this wasn't the intention, it could prove to be a side benefit.

Doug Fullington's (with PNB dancers and pianist Christina Siemens) lecture-demonstration "After Petipa" made the Seattle Weekly's "Our Critics' 10 Favorite Moments of 2011", in this case sandik: "After Petipa" will be presented on Sunday, 13 May- Monday, 14 May, 7:30pm at the Guggenheim Museum. Tickets go on sale next Monday, 9 January. It will also be streamed live! http://www.guggenhei...events-schedule

Mine are, not in any order: 1. PNB "Giselle", not only for making it so much more live than any production since DTH's Creole "Giselle", but also for break-out performances by new Principals (as of the beginning of this season) Lesley Rausch and Rachel Foster and new Soloist (in name only) Jerome Tisserand and the luminous Myrtha of Carrie Imler and incisive Chalnessa Eames' Berthe. 2. Rausch, Foster, and Tisserand continue their tear on roles during the Fall, and Imler is simply Imler, a living treasure. 3. Mariinsky's "Little Humpbacked Horse", especially for Shklyarov's, Tereshkina's, and Obraztsova's performances in the leads, but also for the Company's casting it to strength at all levels. 4. Doug Fullington's illuminating "After Petipa" presentation. Kudos to the dancers and pianist Christina Siemens. 5. Kyle Davis in "Baiser de la Fee", one of the most authoritative performances I've seen. 6. Breanna Starke and Ginger Smith in Ballet Arizona's "Monumentum"/"Movements" 7. Jillian Barrell in Ballet Arizona's "La Valse". 8. Alina Cojocaru as Aurora in ABT's "Sleeping Beauty". 9. Carrie Imler and Lucien Postlewaite in "Black Swan Pas de Deux". Perfection. 10. PNB's "Encores" program: our last chance to see Ariana Lallone, Chalnessa Eames, Barry Kerollis, Josh Spell, Stacy Lowenberg, and Chalnessa Eames with PNB, and Jeffrey Stanton in his best. non-character roles.

Madonna is so brittle.

Thank you, Quiggin! I hope BAers who attend these films will report.

PNB's "Giselle" is receiving "Best of 2011" and year-end summary accolades: New York Times "Best of" Slide Show Grand Entrances and a Long Goodbye Pointe Magazine .pdf file: http://bit.ly/sxqGsC