Helene

Those changes are on the American Ballet Theatre website calendar. They are not yet on the Metropolitan Opera website calendar, where the ABT website redirects to order tickets.

The link to the NYPL catalog is here: http://www.nypl.org/collections You can use it to search for any item. The results page for a search on "Rosenkavalier Farrell" is: http://catalog.nypl.org/iii/encore/search/C|Srosenkavalier+farrell;jsessionid=81742E979A2AD67AD68FC0F780EFAAC1?lang=eng All available without permit are for in use at the library. The NYPL often has many performances of ballets that were made for archival purposes and never shown on PBS or made available for commercial use, including several of Farrell in "Vienna Waltzes". They are dated 25 and 28 May 1983, and 9 June 1983. The performance used for the broadcast was taped in October 1983. The principal casting is the same, except that in one of the May performances, Daniel Duell danced "Explosion Polka", and in the others and the broadcast, Bart Cook did.

Loscavio was a fantastic dancer, in my opinion as good as any I saw at NYCB. I was lucky to have seen her many times; when I worked with partners in the Bay Area, I went to SFB regularly when they were in season, and I remember the seasons in the smaller venues when War Memorial was being renovated.

AuntPat, This thread, which discusses how a young, up-and-coming, pegged as a future star dancer at New York City Ballet, Chase Finlay, has been cast as "Apollo" shows how ballet fans question the cast list with as much scrutiny as sports fans do the starting lineups: I forgot to mention earlier that in a recent movie about Paris Opera Ballet, there is a scene in which Brigitte Lefevre, the head of the company, discusses casting with a guest choreographer, and her message to him is a cautious [paraphrase] "But of course you can use whomever you want, but if you're planning to cast any of the stars, the part better be worthy of them."

AND the audience appreciated it and the curtain calls were wonderful. The best part was that she didn't come as a star of one of the big European companies (Legris from POB, Ayupova and Zelensky [who also performed with NYCB], from the Mariinsky, Durante and Bussell from Royal Ballet), one of the other NY companies (Jaffee and Collins from ABT, Perry from Dance Theatre of Harlem [also formerly ABT], or even a guest from a Children of Balanchine company with whom the audience might have been familiar from Pacific Northwest Ballet's "Nutcracker" movie and the company's tour to BAM, which was much lauded by Arlene Croce. I don't think many people knew who she was, and she got a only polite reception when she came on stage, a stark contrast to the way she left.

From stinger784. It made me double over with laughter and want to stab myself at the same time: You should be in Black Swan

Thank you so much rg That brings back so many memories. I can't believe I forgot the appetizer course, and the program explains why the "American Dessert" was not Russian

That is so true! The only thing I remember was that my selection had dill in it, and dessert seemed more American than Russian, but it was the type that catered well.

It depends on the company. Often it's the Artistic Director for principal and soloist/demi-soloist roles, although in large companies, the corps can be assigned by a Ballet Master/Mistress or other person in charge of the corps, since scheduling for rep companies especially is a huge puzzle, taking into consideration union contracts, dancers' other rehearsal commitments, injuries, etc. Children in US companies audition for roles in the big ballets, which sometimes means finding kids who can fit into the costumes. Often guest choreographers get to choose dancers. Balanchine allowed Robbins to cast his own ballets, and there are numerous written accounts where Balanchine allowed Robbins and other choreographers to pick dancers first during festivals or galas. Not all AD's are that generous, and some commissions come with a cast in mind, especially ballets created for occasions, where the monarch's favorite dancer might be cast, the ballet is meant to showcase all of the principals, or the work is a retirement/leaving commission. In some situations the hierarchy of a company restricts the pool: Suzanne Farrell wrote in her memoir that when she staged "Scotch Symphony" post-perestroika for the Mariinsky, she chose a young dancer for the lead and hit a brick wall until she used a dancer higher up the food chain. Reading and listening to Q&A's, AD's have cast dancers against type or before they're fully ripe to stretch them, and sometimes, like a couple of NYCB seasons in the mid-80's that I can remember, because there was almost no one standing towards the end of the spring season, or because a dancer is a quick study, and they need a last-minute substitution. Merrill Ashley wrote in her memoir about going home after rehearsals and just missing getting asked to sub for an injured dancer, while one of her rivals at the time was in the theater and got the nod. Arlene Croce wrote about being glad when Balanchine stopped casting Merrill Ashley and Karin von Aroldingen in "Emeralds", which she and many others considered, at best, an experiment at stretching both that went on far too long. Sometimes it's just personal taste on the part of the AD, who sees something that the rest of us don't. Often the AD has a lot of Principals and Soloists and has to cast them over the course of a season, where that season is at least somewhat dictated by box office. They have to spread it around. It's even trickier when the AD inherits dancers from a previous administration.

It did take place all afternoon and evening. There were long breaks between sections: I remember one for dinner -- they sold boxed lunches with food based on Balanchine's favorite foods -- and one for dessert. (Maybe there was a third.) Before the last segment, everyone was given a little box with a mini "Absolut" bottle -- currant flavored, if I remember correctly -- and there was a toast to Balanchine by Martins and Kirstein, and I'm pretty sure this made it into the DVD version. I'm so sorry I didn't keep the program for this.

What do you think the increased risk that Master P brought was? (The producers actually did have a Plan B. Keith Carradine was on standby to be a contestant on the show, probably because the producers thought that Jerry Springer would be the celeb most likely to drop out that season. Carradine was obviously not going to bring the hoped-for demographic that Romeo/Master P would, though.) The risk was that they'd have someone who wasn't engaged with the show and came across as hostile to it, undermining the premise. (Part of me can't blame him, season one was so cheesetastic.) DWTS was still in its infancy, not yet a phenomenon, and while it's still not attracting A-listers outside sports -- Apollo Ohno and Evan Lysacek, who was fresh off an Olympic gold medal, and skating royalty Kristi Yamaguchi, who can still draw audiences in skating shows -- Season 2 was long before it became respectable to be on it. It had the ability to sink to bad daytime TV, and be known entirely for the train wrecks and fan wars, with the dancing completely obscured. For me, Plan A was Romeo. As a project manager, my Plan B would have been Carradine, not Master P, given how close to "launch" the replacement was, because he was a safer choice, with time on his hands and not many other distractions or reason to go asap. Thank you for this perspective: it never occurred to me that with the risk of injury so present, Romeo would have anything for which to be embarrassed. As it turned out, his father became an embarrassment for him, given the number of early references to how bad he was, and even the obnoxious radio guy made an "I scored higher than Master P" comment. I don't know what Romeo was like at 16, but at 21, he seems committed to attempting to absorb style and to acknowledging his pro's expertise. They seems compatible to me. I thought he did a very charming program this week to "New York, New York", even if the patriotic theme was horrific, and the most of the other music/versions about as awful and inappropriate to the dances, especially rhumba and samba, as it gets. (He lucked out on his music.) It was worse than last week's "classical" theme, which had promise, but when some teams had to use actual classical music, and others movie soundtracks, some of the pros must be wondering whether it all is worth it. Louis van Amstel looks like he is trying to find a cyanide tablet. Kirstie Alley, after two weeks with mishaps -- a fall two weeks ago, and falling out of her shoe last week -- was tense and relatively withdrawn. I'm hoping this week's lack-of-issues dance energizes her again. It will be interesting to see who will be eliminated tonight.

I had the same sticker shock looking for jeans with my niece. I questioned, mildly, the pricing of jeans at $200 up and she said, "They last so much longer." As someone who grew up on dungarees and got my entire college wardrobe at Bob's Surplus, I remember when designer jeans first made a splash in the late '70's and my sister spent $70 on a pair. I almost fainted when I saw the price tag. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNjntNHHUs0 (Bamberger's was the Macy's of New Jersey, with a branch in the big outdoor shopping mall, the Garden State Plaza, in Paramus, and in high school, I bought a plaid [] raincoat from the Newark branch.) That sounds like Bonwit Teller in NYC.

Was he asking for applause or rhythmic clapping?

I taped this from a WNET broadcast on Betamax -- [visual: stegosaur foraging] -- and towards the beginning of Heather Watts' "My One and Only" solo, the picture began to cycle -- [visual: stegosaur foraging] -- and Watts' feet were cut off before there was a message that they were experiencing technical difficulties. Since then, I've always remembered that solo as cycling through, being cut off at the feet, and then having about 10 seconds of dark screen plus message. San Francisco Ballet's Elizabeth Loscavio did a killer job on that solo on the Balanchine Celebration DVD's, and Judith Fugate was fantastic in "Fascinatin' Rhythm". I was so sad when Stephanie Saland retired with the "Rosenkavalier" performance. I lent my DVD's, but I'm certain they caught her solo curtain call during the credits.

His musicality struck me, too.

I think their decision is very short-sighted. In Seattle I'm not sure what distinguishes the store from Macy's anymore.

Many thanks, Dollie, and welcome to Ballet Alert!

The bing translation is:

Oberon humiliates Titania by having Puck "apply" the magic flower to her, turning Bottom into a donkey after she refuses to give him the page, and then sets up Bottom to be the first thing Titania sees upon wakening. That sounds like payback to me.

Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's very clear from the book how much he regarded Melissa Hayden. One of the last chapters is called "Death of Milly". Regarding the purpose of the book, the source materials, and why it's different from the memoirs/autobiographies of Villella, Tallchief, etc. are explained in the prologue: While reading it, I could hear him telling the stories, not reading them aloud, and I could see him smiling and gesturing while he did. The other autobiographies and memoirs were more strictly chronological. His book has holes all over the place, and I think that was deliberate. For example, the copyright was 2011. Even if publication was delayed after the reference to his son Christopher's marriage in 2008, his wife, Carolyn George, to whom the book was dedicated along with his mother, died in February 2009 at 81 of primary lateral sclerosis, which is normally progresses slowly. There is not an inkling in the book that his wife was ill at all, or a postscript that she died before the book was published, although the death of his brother John at age 80 is included in the chapter "Denouement". In that chapter, he wrote, "My memoirs are not not filled with angst. There hasn't been horror." The last line of the book is, "As Milly said to me, and I often say to Carrie, 'We did a good job. Goodbye.'" His collection of narratives makes sense both of his assertion that he understood why he wasn't chosen to lead NYCB -- he had too many other interests, a lot like Allegra Kent with her babies -- wasn't 110% dedicated to a single thing, which I would guess is the main reason why he disappointed Kirstein. He wasn't a monk in a hairshirt, suffering and sacrificing the way Kirstein envisioned that he would had he had the talent of a d'Amboise.

Edilsa Armendariz, formerly with Nevada Ballet Theatre and San Diego Ballet, and David Fonnegra, formerly of Miami City Ballet and currently a member of Diablo Ballet, will perform the leads in an hour-long version of "The Sleeping Beauty" with students from the Contra Costa Ballet School, who will also perform two works by faculty member and former Ballet Arizona dancer Robert Dekkers. Here is the press release: Thanks to a heads up from iwatchthecorps.

The camera work was lame, but it was a hoot nonetheless. Lorena Feijoo was a combination of Black Swan and von Rothbart, and she dies at the feet of Careno and her sister, Lorna.

Miranda Weese? I only saw one performance of the ballet in 2008, the only season in which Weese was in the company when the complete ballet was given, and Weese danced Hermia, but she could have been cast as Helena in other performances. Hermia looks like Kaori Nakamura I have to stop watching on small screens: I was sure the dancer in the photo was blond, which is so wrong. It does look like Nakamura, and I saw her dance Hermia in 1999 and 2004. Thank you for the ID!

Sidney Lumet has died: Associated Press story in The Washington Post. His movies include "12 Angry Men", "Dog Day Afternoon", "Network", and "The Verdict", for which he was nominated as Best Director for the Academy Awards, and "Serpico". From The New York Times