BalletNut

Thank you for that, tessdixon, and welcome to Ballet Talk.

Opening Night Gala Evening

Wednesday, January 25, 2006 8 pm

THE VERTIGINOUS THRILL OF EXACTITUDE

Conductor: Martin West

Kristin Long, Katita Waldo, Vanessa Zahorian, Nicolas Blanc*, Pierre-François Vilanoba

PAS DE TROIS from PAQUITA

Conductor: Martin West

Frances Chung, Rachel Viselli, Jaime Garcia Castilla*

PAS DE DEUX from CHOPINIANA

San Francisco Ballet Premiere

Conductor: Martin West

Claire Pascal, Ruben Martin*

PAS DE DEUX from REFLECTIONS

Conductor: Martin West

Muriel Maffre, Damian Smith

BLACK SWAN PAS DE DEUX from SWAN LAKE, ACT III

Conductor: Martin West

Violin: Roy Malan

Lorena Feijoo, Davit Karapetyan*

-INTERMISSION-

SOLO

Music: Tape

Peter Brandenhoff, Stephen Legate, Pascal Molat*

HARLEQUINADE

San Francisco Ballet Premiere

Conductor: Martin West

Tina LeBlanc*, Joan Boada*

PAS DE DEUX from THE DANCE HOUSE

Piano: Michael McGraw

Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun*, Tiit Helimets*

SOLO from ELEMENTAL BRUBECK

San Francisco Premiere

Music: Tape

Gonzalo Garcia

3RD MOVEMENT & FINALE from PRISM

Conductor: Martin West

Piano: Roy Bogas

Hansuke Yamamoto, Elizabeth Miner, Moises Martin, Kirill Zaretskiy, Sarah Van Patten, Sergio Torrado

and corps de ballet

* Indicates premiere in role

Yet another traditional end-of-year topic here at Ballet Talk.

Based on what you've seen in 2005 and years past, what do you think will happen in 2006? What would you like to see in ballet in 2006? What are you afraid will happen in ballet in 2006?

I hope to see lots of interesting answers.

Post-Xmas casts:

Nutcracker Matinee

Monday, December 26, 2005 2 pm

Conductor: Gary Sheldon

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Kristin Long, Nicolas Blanc

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Frances Chung

Grand Pas de Deux: Katita Waldo, Davit Karapetyan

Nutcracker Evening

Monday, December 26, 2005 7 pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Ashley Wheater

Queen and King of the Snow: Lorena Feijoo, Moises Martin

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Muriel Maffre

Grand Pas de Deux: Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets

Nutcracker Matinee

Tuesday, December 27, 2005 2 pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Peter Brandenhoff

Queen and King of the Snow: Clara Blanco*, Jaime Garcia Castilla*

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Elana Altman

Grand Pas de Deux: Rachel Viselli, Moises Martin

Nutcracker Matinee

Wednesday, December 28, 2005 2pm

Conductor: Gary Sheldon

Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel

Queen and King of the Snow: Sarah Van Patten, Sergio Torrado

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun

Grand Pas de Deux: Elizabeth Miner, Nicolas Blanc

Nutcracker Matinee

Thursday, December 29, 2005 2 pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Katita Waldo, Davit Karapetyan

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Frances Chung

Grand Pas de Deux: Sarah Van Patten, Sergio Torrado

It's that time of year again!

What, in your opinion, were the high and low points of the year 2005 in ballet?

SFB: Tina LeBlanc, whose warmth and musicality enlivened every ballet she danced this season--and she danced quite a few!

The pitting of classicism against modernity is nothing new, I'm afraid. Neither is the tendency of directors and administrators to try to attract younger audiences with "edgy" works that purport to turn classical ballet on its proverbial head. And, I agree with walboi that very few of these "edgy" new works are actually well-choreographed in their own right. (I say this as someone in the age demographic most attractive to box office admins).

I think walboi's comment that choreographers seem out of touch with reality is well-taken; I'll bring my youth up as an example. I'm as young as they come (for now, anyway), and I have zero interest in the ballets (I use the term very loosely) choreographed to attract people like me. You want my money, give me classics, or something resembling one, at least. If I want modern dance, I'll see a modern dance company. If I'm seeing a ballet company, it's because I would like to see...ballet.

By the way, here are some "classic" threads from the Ballet Talk archives which discuss the ballet/modern issue in wonderful detail, and are well worth a read.

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=3017

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=3016

Thank you for that, Quiggin.

Chidozie Nzerem has always been a favorite of mine...along with Boada...

A big to everyone who's reported so far! I'm looking forward to seeing it next week (I missed out on the premiere, so haven't seen it at all).

Keep those opinions/impressions/reviews coming!

Waltz of 1-800-FLOWERS.com.

I this topic!

Disclaimer: Don't try this at home, choreographers/directors! :deal:

Thank you for clarifying. I'm glad Tomasson kept it, it's a great piece of choreography, and in the old production it was always my favorite divertissement.

Additional casting:

Nutcracker Matinee

Friday, December 23, 2005 2 pm

Conductor: David LaMarche

Drosselmeyer: Peter Brandenhoff

Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung, Hansuke Yamamoto

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Tina LeBlanc

Grand Pas de Deux: Vanessa Zahorian, Davit Karapetyan

Nutcracker Evening

Friday, December 23, 2005 7 pm

Conductor: Gary Sheldon

Drosselmeyer: Ashley Wheater

Queen and King of the Snow: Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun, Stephen Legate

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Muriel Maffre

Grand Pas de Deux: Lorena Feijoo, Tiit Helimets

Nutcracker Matinee

Saturday, December 24, 2005 11 am

Conductor: David LaMarche

Drosselmeyer: Ashley Wheater

Queen and King of the Snow: Rachel Viselli, Peter Brandenhoff

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Elizabeth Miner

Grand Pas de Deux: Kristin Long, Joan Boada

Nutcracker Evening

Saturday, December 24, 2005 4 pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Ashley Wheater

Queen and King of the Snow: Yuan Yuan Tan, Ruben Martin

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Lorena Feijoo

Grand Pas de Deux: Tina LeBlanc, Gonzalo Garcia

I'm with jayo; I don't think ballet has ever had much to do with reality. After all, how many people express affection by lifting their partner and swooping her into a fish-dive in the Real World? The escapist factor is one of the main things that draws me to ballet, actually. Perhaps if people weren't so afraid of that, it'd be more appealing.

Stateside at least, ballet is often associated with all that is ultra-feminine and "girly." Many dance studios are painted pink, with Degas posters, for example, and male dancers often have their sexuality and masculinity called into question. If anything, if ballet had more androgynous appeal, we'd have more boys taking up ballet than we do currently. This particular issue with the "femininity" of ballet as an art form is a different issue IMO from the current vogue for "boyish" and often unrealistic physiques in female dancers, which is nonetheless a major issue for ballet, and may well be a factor in deterring some people from enjoying it.

I also agree that the popularity of watching ballet might be at a different place than the popularity of "doing" ballet. However, if the SI's and schools do a good job at teaching ballet, one would hope the students would come away with a greater appreciation for the art form!

Funding is a can of worms these days, unfortunately.

Welcome to Ballet Talk, Kellyaire. I hope you'll find your way onto our Welcome forum so we can get to know you better. Anyway, MacMillan's ballets do seem to have their fair share of lifts, don't they? Unfortunately, there are only so many slots that the software will give you for polls!

You're welcome, dachnitsa. Now I'm interested to see Spartacus. (I presume we're talking about the Grigorovitch version, correct?)

...actually, it's an arm position. Here is a picture of Melissa Hayden: http://balletbookstore.com/ballerina/pic/hayden03.jpg

So my question is, is there a name for the position of her arms, where one hand appears to be almost touching the shoulder, bent at the elbow? I've seen this a lot, for example, in the Bluebird pdd from Sleeping Beauty, but have no idea what it's called.

I've edited the poll so that Spartacus appears as an option.

It's hard to say who's doing which smaller roles in advance when they aren't listed on the website. The only way to know for sure is through hindsight: that is, posters on Ballet Talk reporting on the casts they saw when they went to their respective performaces (hint, hint). Beyond that, there's no way to know for sure, for a number of reasons: first of all, because, as stated above, it's not posted in advance, and also because casting often changes at the last minute due to any number of factors. Speculation about those factors is something we try not to do too much on this board in the absence of official press releases or news items, because otherwise it can turn into gossip...and there's always the chance of the dancers in question reading Ballet Talk...

As far as whether the artists of the company get tired of Nutcrackering after a month-long run of the same ballet over and over? Well, I'm seeing Nutz after Christmas this year, so if the dancers are sick of performing Nutcracker by then, I hope they make a decent effort to hide it. (Usually, they do.)

That being said, Miner is a lovely dancer and I hope to see her this season.

I thought now would be a good time for a companion poll to our "Toughest ballet for a ballerina" topic. Which leading role from the above ballets is the hardest on its male lead? What makes it more difficult than other ballets?

Even more casting. :blush:

Nutcracker Matinee

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 2 pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Muriel Maffre, Pierre-François Vilanoba

Sugar Plum Fairy: Frances Chung

Grand Pas de Deux: Elizabeth Miner*, Nicolas Blanc*

Nutcracker Evening

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 7 pm

Conductor: David LaMarche

Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel

Queen and King of the Snow: Lorena Feijoo, Moises Martin

Sugar Plum Fairy: Kristin Long

Grand Pas de Deux: Katita Waldo, Davit Karapetyan

Nutcracker Matinee

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 2 pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Ashley Wheater

Queen and King of the Snow: Sarah Van Patten, Sergio Torrado

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Elana Altman

Grand Pas de Deux: Tina LeBlanc, Gonzalo Garcia

Nutcracker Evening

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 7 pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Ashley Wheater

Queen and King of the Snow: Yuan Yuan Tan, Ruben Martin

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Vanessa Zahorian

Grand Pas de Deux: Kristin Long, Joan Boada

Nutcracker Matinee

Thursday, December 22, 2005 2 pm

Conductor: David LaMarche

Drosselmeyer: Peter Brandenhoff

Queen and King of the Snow: Elizabeth Miner, Pascal Molat

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Claire Pascal

Grand Pas de Deux: Muriel Maffre, Pierre-François Vilanoba

Nutcracker Evening

Thursday, December 22, 2005 7 pm

Conductor: David LaMarche

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Katita Waldo, Davit Karapetyan

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Rachel Viselli

Grand Pas de Deux: Sarah Van Patten, Sergio Torrado

Casting subject to change.

Thanks for writing that, sfshaza!

It's always interesting when there's a mishap on stage and the dancers have to improvise or "save." I remember one time in Othello when a dancer's hat fell off and someone kicked it into the wings...

Any more Nutcracker reports? We'd all love to hear about the performance(s) you've been seeing!

There's no such thing as "unqualified" when it comes to writing reviews about ballet. Did you see it? Do you have an opinion? Can you string together words in a sentence or two? Then you're more than qualified!

By the way, I'm a huge fan of Boada myself. Who else was in the cast for that performance, and what did you think of them?

Bump.

I'm finding it hard to believe that I'm the only Ballet Talker who's seeing Nut this year...please don't be shy about sharing your opinions! (I promise I'll review it when I see it, but that won't be until after Christmas, as that's the performance I have tickets for.)

Please let know which DVD Balanchine version are good ones.  Thanks

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As far as I know, there is only one Balanchine Nut on DVD, and that is the Warner Brothers version with Darci Kistler, Damian Woetzel, Kyra Nichols, and...Macaulay Culkin. Apart from the saccharine narration and Culkin's awkwardness, it is an excellent film, and is probably very widely available to rent or purchase (by clicking on our Amazon link, of course .)

If there are other films of the complete Balanchine Nutcracker out there, most likely they haven't been commercially released in their entirety, if at all.

Hope that helps!

More casting:

Nutcracker Matinee

Thursday, December 15, 2005 2 pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Ashley Wheater

Queen and King of the Snow: Kristin Long, Nicolas Blanc

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Rachel Viselli

Grand Pas de Deux: Tina LeBlanc, Gonzalo Garcia

Nutcracker Matinee

Friday, December 16, 2005 2 pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung, Hansuke Yamamoto

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Claire Pascal*

Grand Pas de Deux: Vanessa Zahorian, Davit Karapetyan

Nutcracker Evening

Friday, December 16, 2005 7 pm

Conductor: David LaMarche

Drosselmeyer: Peter Brandenhoff

Queen and King of the Snow: Sarah Van Patten, Sergio Torrado

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Muriel Maffre

Grand Pas de Deux: Lorena Feijoo, Tiit Helimets

Nutcracker Matinee

Saturday, December 17, 2005 2 pm

Conductor: David LaMarche

Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli

Queen and King of the Snow: Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun, Stephen Legate

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Elana Altman

Grand Pas de Deux: Muriel Maffre, Pierre-François Vilanoba

Nutcracker Evening

Saturday, December 17, 2005 7 pm

Conductor: Gary Sheldon

Drosselmeyer: Ashley Wheater

Queen and King of the Snow: Katita Waldo, Davit Karapetyan*

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Frances Chung

Grand Pas de Deux: Kristin Long, Joan Boada

Nutcracker Matinee

Sunday, December 18, 2005 2 pm

Conductor: Martin West

Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel

Queen and King of the Snow: Elizabeth Miner, Pascal Molat

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Lorena Feijoo

Grand Pas de Deux: Sarah Van Patten, Sergio Torrado

Nutcracker Evening

Sunday, December 18, 2005 7 pm

Conductor: David LaMarche

Drosselmeyer: Ashley Wheater

Queen and King of the Snow: Muriel Maffre, Pierre-François Vilanoba

The Sugar Plum Fairy: Frances Chung

Grand Pas de Deux: Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets

My second veiwing of RENT was actually on December 1 -- World AIDS Day. The date reminded me that the film is still very much relevant in some respects. I applaud all efforts to raise awareness about a disease that still claims too many victims every year.

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I was thinking the same thing when I saw it...on that day also. Not that a movie or a musical should be a public service announcement, but if it gets people thinking about it, that's a good thing, especially when people with HIV/AIDS are portrayed sympathetically.

Hans, I can see how having to hear it 800 times a day might turn you off...I feel the same way about Grease, myself, having been to sleepaway camp in my childhood...