Helene

That's great -- I can download it from iTunes when it's ready.

Thanks to Balanchinomane's post in the ABT forum about Hallberg being broadcast in "Sleeping Beauty" with Zakharova on 20 November, I found the following casting for the HD movies: Bolshoi Esmeralda (9 October): Maria Alexandrova, Denis Savin http://www.balletincinema.com/titles/esmeralda-bolshoi/ Bolshoi Reopening Gala (28 October ): Natalia Osipova, Svetlana Zakharova, Ivan Vasiliev, Plácido Domingo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Natalie Dessay, Violeta Urmana http://www.balletincinema.com/titles/the-bolshoi-re-opening-gala/ Sleeping Beauty (20 November): Svetlana Zakharova, David Hallberg http://www.balletincinema.com/titles/the-sleeping-beauty-bolshoi/ The Nutcracker: Nina Kaptsova, Artem Ovcharenko http://www.balletincinema.com/titles/the-nutcracker-bolshoi/ Royal Ballet: The Sleeping Beauty (15 December): Lauren Cuthbertson, Sergei Polunin http://www.balletincinema.com/titles/the-sleeping-beauty-royal-ballet/ Nothing up yet for the 2012 releases.

I missed this five-minute video from Wheeldon's Lecture Demo that took place a few days before the program's opening: It includes rehearsal footage, including Korbes and Orza in "Carousel: "A Dance".

Here is the trailer for "Love Stories", a mixed rep program featuring the company premiere of Balanchine's "Divertimento from 'Baiser de la fee'" and Robbins' "Afternoon of a Faun", along with excerpts from Maillot's "Romeo et Juliette" ("Balcony Pas de Deux"), Stowell's "Swan Lake" ("Black Swan Pas de Deux"), and Hynd's "Sleeping Beauty" ("Aurora's Wedding"): Featured are: Carla Korbes/Stanko Milov in "Black Swan Pas de Deux" Kaori Nakamura/James Moore in "Balcony Pas de Deux" Carrie Imler/Batkhurel Bold in "Aurora's Wedding"

I didn't see last night's show, but I've been very happy watching Nancy Grace. In last week's foxtrot (?), it looked like her pro, Tristan, gave her a lot that she might get if she were trying to learn at a studio, rather than a big production number with props, and it looked like he was dancing with his aunt at a wedding. ETA: It may be because I have no associations with her. I hadn't heard of her until DWTS.

No, I didn't. I had conflicts with the two performances last weekend (1 Oct 9:30pm and 2 Oct 11am), and have one for the 10:45am showing this Friday. I suspect it won't be one of the films that gets an extra scheduling, but you never know.

The Vancouver International Film Festival, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, opened last week. I've seen a handful of movies, all worth seeing: Morente: A documentary about the late, great Flamenco singer, Enrique Morente -- controversial among Flamenco purists (see link below) -- who died very soon after they completed filming of post-surgical complications. It consists of interviews with him and his family, performance footage -- from the Liceu in Barcelona to a gallery in the Reina Sofia Museum -- rehearsal footage, and performances by his three children, alone and with him. His political awakening is brought up early in the film -- one of his pieces is called " " -- but it's the moving interview late in the film, where he speaks of seeing Guernica for the first time on tour to New York at MOMA, and he's lying on his side in front of the painting, that is one of the highlights.The extended performance footage centers around music set to poetry by Pablo Picasso. The film seems to go in many directions, but I think it pulls together beautifully. A must see for anyone who's interested in Flamenco. Eighty Letters: A film from the Czech Republic about a woman whose husband was able to get to England, who tries to get permission for her and her son to leave Czechoslovakia to re-unite the family. The first of two films about frightening bureaucracy. Best Intentions: A film from Romania about a guy in his early 30's from Bucharest who gets a phone call that his mother has suffered from a stroke. He calls everyone he knows in the medical profession for advice and interpretation, and heads to their small city hospital where she is being treated, with the intention of moving her to a "better" hospital. Throughout the film he gets massive amounts of unsolicited advice and medical horror stories, most of them irrelevant. It's the definition of "better" around which the film is concerned, and I think, about how hard it is to separate cause, since it's not clear how much of his interference/actions/neurosis influences her care (in both directions). Meeting with his old friends in a bar, one of them, a bald guy named Curly, cuts to the chase, asking whether it is about his anxiety or his mother's. I think most New Yorkers will identify, especially as more and more people are worried about their parents' future as elderly people. Goodbye: From Iran, a human rights lawyer finds current-day Iran unbearable and tries to leave. More bureaucracy ensues. A sister film to "Eighty Letters", but set over two decades later. The more things change... The Jewel: A biting Italian film about corruption in Italy. Set in the 90's until the early 2000's, the main characters are the President of a large food company that he built from his father's meat business, who tries to get into the newly opened Eastern European and Russian markets, but faces constant liquidity issues; his main financial guy, a few of his executives, and his degreed niece, his sister's daughter, who had worked for Morgan Stanley and is hired by the President as a condition of his buying out the sister's shares in the family-owned company. It went down a full star in my book for two unnecessarily heavy handed parts: The first making the financial guy, who's no dummy, need to have the concept of "good cop/bad cop" explained to him by the niece after a successful negotiation, and the second, a scene that I think was meant to be sardonic, but came across to me as treacle. Mostly, though, it stabs and turns the knife. Its best parts reminded me of the series "House of Cards", which I think it might have been trying to emulate, although not using the first person point of view of the Ian Richardson character. Still worth seeing, but I wished they'd edit those scenes out. More to follow in the days ahead. The festival ends at the end of next week, and because this is Canadian Thanksgiving weekend coming up, there are lots of before noon performances.

PNB just posted a link to this short video of the "Pointe" photo shoot with Dec: http://www.dancemedia.com/v/5786

One thing I've found different from living in Canada versus the US is the expectation that artists will receive grants and funding. It's part of the social contract here. It's no secret that the Harper government has tried in many different areas to emulate the US, and that includes government funding cuts to the arts. That a Fox-like media outlet would try to undermine public support isn't surprising.

What sad news. Rest in peace, Mr. Grant.

Thanks, sandik -- here's a link: http://www.pointemagazine.com/issues/octobernovember-2011/seizing-her-moment Lindsi Dec is always engaging in the post-performance Q&A's, and I found this part funny: I've never noticed a lack of turnout; I think it's because of the very smooth way she moves and how she transitions from one movement to the next.

Many thanks, rg -- it must have been an amazing night.

Nanarina and Marcmomus: thank you so much for the in-house reports!

They don't often tour the big pieces, but they have. "The Hard Nut" was, for quite a while, and biannual event at Zellerbach in Berkeley, and they just performed "Dido and Aeneas" at Zellerbach a few weeks ago. I was privileged to see it, and then "Heart of a Soldier" the next day. (It might not have been great opera, but it was great theater, and I think the only thing preventing it from a long run in NYC is the conversion to Islam by the hero's best friend, a relationship that carries throughout the opera and its most important.) I've also seen "L'Allegro" in Berkeley and Seattle. There are 18 dancers on the roster, which I think is smallish for them. (Julie Warden, a long-time audience favorite, although not one of mine, and David Rosenthal, Lauren Grant's husband and one of the most wonderful men to dance with MMDG, are no longer on the roster.) All three big works were made for his residency at Monnaie, and he inherited dancers that were already at the theater to expand his company. "L'Allegro" and "Hard Nut" require big casts. I think "Dido" has a more modest cast of 10-12. "V" is a wonderful piece.

Most of the population in the US and Canada immigrated to North America as peasants. Few of the dancers in the royal companies anywhere were aristocrats. I don't identify with Aurora personally any more than I identify with Beowulf, but the underlying conflicts and group/power dynamics in the ballet in the ballet are universal, which is why "Giselle" dropped very nicely into the Bajou. I suspect most people who've ever worked for their "betters" can identify with Petipa The Lilac Fairy, expected to do all the work and clean up the messes of those betters, who looked at their portrait in the ballet and were flattered, and while the doers "Make it work" as the philosopher Tim Gunn says, with grace and aplomb, regardless of the circumstances.

I think MMDG is always worth seeing. There are two dancers I find mesmerizing: Lauren Grant and Amber Star Merkins, who I saw earlier in the month in Berkeley dance as an astoundingly moving Dido in "Dido and Aeneas". (Morris choreographed the role for himself.) I also like Rita Donohoe very much.

We're the watchers, not the doers, but I'm sure many Ballet Alertniks will be interested in the Gala.

Or watched the parade of little Ariels on Halloween of all races. (I'm not sure if you have that dress-up/candy begging tradition in the UK, Simon.)

BalletMet Columbus Presents the Classic Tale of Seduction, Passion, Betrayal and Murder: Amedeo Amodio’s CARMEN November 4 – 12 at the Capitol Theatre COLUMBUS, OH—BalletMet Columbus sets the stage for the classic tale of seduction, passion, betrayal and murder with the company premiere of CARMEN by renowned Italian choreographer Amedeo Amodio. Performances of CARMEN take place at the Capitol Theatre November 4 – 12, 2011. Tickets start at $20 and may be purchased at the CAPA Ticket Office, 39 East State Street – (614) 469-0930, all Ticketmaster Outlets, online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 982-2787. CARMEN features scenery and costumes by Luisa Spinatelli, the music of Georges Bizet, with additional incidental original music by Giuseppe Cali. The entire production is directed and choreographed by Amedeo Amodio. When Amodio’s CARMEN premiered at Tulsa Ballet, dance critic James D. Watts, Jr. of the Tulsa News raved, “Few of these ballets (other versions of CARMEN) distill the essence of this story into so dramatic a form as Amodio’s. In fact, this is one of the best – if not the best – presentations of this passionate, tragic story that I’ve ever seen.” Set to the enthralling score by Georges Bizet, CARMEN tells the story of a beautiful seductress, the two lovers who vie for her affection and the tragic outcome of their tangled affair. Made famous as an opera, Amodio’s CARMEN brings the story to life through viscerally athletic modern ballet. “One of the great beauties of this production, which comes to us from Europe, is that it has a sense of being very classical and yet has a distinctly contemporary feel,” said BalletMet Artistic Director Gerard Charles. CARMEN premiered in its original operatic form at the Opera-Comique in Paris March 3, 1875. The debut was not a success. In fact the production shuttered after just 48 performances, leaving its 36 year old composer with a broken heart from which he never recovered. Bizet died June 3, 1875. A subsequent production in Vienna in October 1875 brought popular and critical success, and the opera has remained an audience favorite to this day. The tragic love story at the heart of CARMEN has inspired its fair share of film adaptations including Otto Preminger’s 1954 film “Carmen Jones,” starring Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge; Sir Peter Brooks’ provocative 1983 “La Tragedie de Carmen”; Carlos Saura’s acclaimed 1984 Flamenco “Carmen”; Robert Townsend’s 2001 Made for TV “Carmen: A Hip-Hopera” starring Beyonce Knowles; and Vincente Aranda’s 2003 “Carmen” starring Paz Vega. Orchestral Suites of the opera’s music are regularly performed by the world’s leading orchestras. And the score’s infectious melodies and rhythmic verve have spurred the creativity of leading choreographers including Alberto Alonso, Roland Petit and former BalletMet Artistic Director David Nixon, among others. BalletMet presents Amedeo Amodio’s production of CARMEN Friday, November 4 – Saturday, November 12 at the Capitol Theatre. Tickets start as low as $20 and can be purchased through CAPA (614.469.0939) or Ticketmaster (800.982.2787, ticketmaster.com). Subscription packages and group discounts are available through BalletMet (614.586.8665). College students with ID can purchase $15 Student Rush tickets at the theater beginning two hours prior to show time. Students age 13 to 18 can purchase $5 High Five vouchers at any Central Ohio Kroger Ticketmaster location.

Here is a link to her obituary: http://www.doverpost.com/therecord/x110333587/Obit-Tatiana-Nikolievna-Akinfieva-Smith Thank you for posting, Karen L, and welcome to Ballet Alert!

Excellent news, nanushka -- thank you for posting

I'm glad that the pros are getting recognition and have fan bases of their own. They work their butts off, and they're wonderful dancers. Whether they're great at what they're supposed to do with the stars -- i.e., teach well, choreograph well -- isn't something that the general public cares to know, and for the minority that does, it's not often based in ballroom expertise. (That's why we need sidwich.) Audience feelings about their star partners from week to week, the number of their trophy balls or lack thereof, and attractiveness, and their star partners' fan bases can neutralize the professional aspects of what they do. People like what they like. I doubt that a lot of the votes have to do with the actual performances from week to week, and I'd be shocked -- shocked I tell you -- if the judges' comments, mostly what they're not saying, didn't reflect what would best suit the ratings. Having pros with their own fan bases is insurance against having a crop of stars that the audience, before they put one step on the floor, decides isn't worth watching or that the stars they count on to draw audiences crash or peter out. As far as scraping the bottom of the barrel, I disagree. This is the 13th season, and there were only three "marquee" names in entertainment that the article mentions: Alley, Donny Osmond, and Grey. That leaves a lot of seasons without any, and even they are like once hugely popular entertainers who are putting in their decades in Vegas. Last year the Steeler Nation rallied its fans to outvote Kirstie Alley, one of the biggest actual stars the show has ever had, and the most currently active and visible. I don't see how Hope Solo is any less of a star in her niche sport (at least as far as TV is concerned) than Evan Lysacek and Apollo Anton Ohno; she, too, has an Olympic gold medal, too, is a goalie, the most individually visible position, and there are far more girls playing soccer than kids in either figure or speed skating in the US. I would say she has more visibility than even Kristi Yamaguchi; only Nancy Kerrigan might have more. I suspect soccer moms vote. Ricki Lake is known for both her talk show and her acting -- "Hairspray" and "China Beach" -- and actors in long-term supporting roles in TV can be beloved, like JR Martinez, or at least their characters are, and to many TV viewers, those are the same thing. David Arquette is a bona-fide film actor with a fan base (even without having been married to Courtney Cox), Chynna Phillips was at the top of the charts in her time, a legitimate musician child of folk rock royalty -- clever cross-generational marketing -- and someone who has entered middle age gracefully -- another coup -- Ron Artest is an NBA champion, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" was a phenomenon and Kressley is quite a character, and Chaz Bono was an inspirational choice. TV has become more niche, and the fan bases more distributed. I might not watch soaps, daytime talk shows, non-fiction law shows, NBA basketball, or reality TV, and know squat about international models, but these people are stars to their constituencies, and most of these constituencies are either TV watchers or happy to do their part when their sports team fan club or message board encourages voting, even if they never watch the show. I can't think of a reason to watch a show about the Kardashians, but enough people do to keep it viable. DWTS has capitalized on family rivalry before (the Osmonds, Romeo and Master P), and if Canalis had a fan base in the US -- and not an "anti" fan base, because while it's great to be known mostly as the ex-Mr. Courtney Cox, being the ex of George Clooney will not endear you to hoards of women, even if your day job is saving baby seals -- there would have been a nice symmetry with the Kardashian (virtual) and the Chmerkovskiy rivalries. This may have been deliberate or they may have lucked into it, but I find the mix this season to be terrific, at least now. I look forward to see how this shakes out: sometimes the group at the end isn't as interesting as the group in the beginning, and sometimes it works the other way. Mainly, in the end, for me, because it's about the dancing, and how they, as adults, learn an excruciatingly difficult and varied form of it.

I generally don't care who the stars are and whether they are true stars, because the interesting thing to me is how they respond to their pros and the dances. I just finished watching the recording of week 1. I was most impressed with Chynna Phillips' floating quality, that Hope Solo stayed on the balls of her feet and had a lot of action in her knees, and JR Martinez' whole body movement. David Arquette was appealing, and Rob Kardashian cleans up well. Carson Kressley started out looking technically messy -- feet are really hard for almost all of the celebrities without dance training -- but in the second half, he did some nice things with his feet, and he could be trainable. He also had performance quality in spades. Chaz Bono struck me as having very nice rhythm and control, and looked very happy to be dancing, not just performing. sidwich -- any time you can spare us to explain what's really happening, I know I'd appreciate, and I'm sure many BAers would, too.

Thank you for the link to the video, sandik! My favorite TV show as a kid was "Hot Dog". For places with large populations, this is much more eco-friendly than guessing print runs, producing and shipping books to various stores, having the stores ship them back for returns, etc. Plus it doesn't preclude shipping from the production point to individuals. Depending on the cost structure, this could be a option for independent book stores, who could get copies sooner than aggregating and waiting for an order from a book distributor. Until the cost of storage and bandwidth becomes prohibitively expense due to the amount of energy it takes to cool those server farms, electronic files are the best way to keep the maximum amount available for print, and "in-print" becomes more of an issue for collectors.