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News flash (found as I occasionally check Amazon's web site for new DVD releases under the keyword "ballet): The Pharoah's Daughter is being released on DVD in the United States on July 12, 2005 by Harmonia Mundi. It will be Region 1 encoded for viewing in the US and Canada. Click here for more info. I don't as yet see a listing on Amazon.co.uk for wider release in the European market, but I'm sure it will follow soon enough.

Soubrette fan - In regards to the pre-performance talks, they really vary depending on the company. For NYCB they had a company repiteur who used to be an NYCB principal come out to give the talk (do'nt remember her name right now), but she gave a lot of very itneresting insights into the ballet. One night, Christopher Wheeldon even spoke since he was in the house for his West Coast premiere of Carnival of the Animals. When SF Ballet was here they did interviews with dancers. Another time, it was a very dry lecture. So it really is a crap shoot, but generally it seems the Music Center tries tomake them as interesting as possible - its worth getting there an hour early to find out!

Rejigged casting for "Giselle" in Los Angeles, following Alessandra Ferri's anounced injury: Roles: Giselle, Albrecht, Myrtha Friday 4/29 Kent, Carreno, Part Saturday 4/30 matinee McKerrow, Beloserkovsky, Wiles Saturday 4/30 evening Reyes, Corella, Murphy Sunday 5/1 matinee Herrera, Gomes, Abrera Nice to be able to see Amanda McKerrow as Giselle before she bids farewell to ABT in New York; also it'll be nice to see Veronika Part as Myrtha earlier in the run. Gala casting looks to be staying the same, which is fine by me! Anyone else planning on going during the run? (If what I get back from ticketmaster is any indication, the Gala is selling very well, as is Saturday night's Giselle...)

For what it's worth, I was pleased the ABT was set to perform two different mixed bill programs during its visit to Orange County visit last year. The works were to have included many contemporary pieces, as well as Wheeldon's VIII, Symphonic Variations and Les Sylphides. But then the visit was cancelled by ABT. Well in any case, I was glad they were going to program it; it looked like OCPAC was taking the chance by feeding it to their subscriber base and upping the marketing focus on the ABT brand name. This programming was likely made possible because it directly followed ABT's City Center season - and therefore probably didn't require much extra rehearsal time. So I don't think they're not trying to have more adventurous programming, but it has a lot to do with what the company has available to tour with. I'd call the Kennedy Center's decision to schedule the Kirov with Ratmansky's Cinderella and the newer version of The Nutcracker pretty interesting programming decisions - they're still story ballets, but they're the "new" that the company is performing. I think more programming clout comes with more and more of an established relationship. And as the Kennedy Center expands its programming under Michael Kaiser (re: the Kirov's 10 year relationship) perhaps they can do more with ABT. No idea why, with ABT, they're doing Nut and Romeo all over again, though...

Wait wait wait - the broadcast of "Swan Lake" is scheduled for June 20. "Making the Misfits," which being advertised in the sidebar on that web page, is the one that is airing on May 11. The "Swan Lake" web companion will go online June 1, with the broadcast itself following on the 20th. Check the broadcast schedule here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/broadcast/broadcast.html Sigh...I wouldn't mind a switch of the two myself, but alas, I guess we'll have to wait until June.

Several great new DVD releases from Kultur in the US market, many of which have not been available on video for quite some time (Good for those of us who haven't gotten a chance to see them before!). Noteworthy are a US release of the Ferri/Eagling Romeo & Juliet, and Britten's Prince of the Pagodas with Darcey Bussell. April 29 - Le Corsaire, Kirov Ballet, w/ Altynai Asylmuratova, Farouk Ruzimatov, Yevgeny Neff, Yelena Pankova http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...?v=glance&s=dvd ABT in San Francisco, Mixed Bill http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...?v=glance&s=dvd May 31 Romeo & Juliet, Royal Ballet (1984), Alessandra Ferri, Wayne Eagling http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...?v=glance&s=dvd The Prince of the Pagodas, Royal Ballet, Jonathan Cope, Darcey Bussell http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...?v=glance&s=dvd La Fille Mal Gardee, Royal Ballet, Lesley Collier, Michael Coleman http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...?v=glance&s=dvd

I second the high comments for Terekhova's Kitri: she's marvelous in this video (it's also recently been released on DVD, by Kultur). The Dream Scene is particularly wonderful with not only Terekhova but Yulia Makalina and the corps de ballet providing stunning and very classical performances. Elsewhere, Terekhova is firecracker - very fun and very technically secure. The video also includes a bunch of other Kirov stars, like Altynai Asylmuratova and Basilio is Farouk Ruzimatov. This is a really really great video of Don Q, even if the videography isn't up to today's standards (good framing of the dancing though). Highly recommended.

Speaking of financial reasons - the standing room at the back of the orchestra is an excellent deal: $10, the view is fantastic and usually your fellow standing room patrons are fun, too. The only drawback is that you have to stand for the ballets. I saw four performances over the weekend - sorry I didn't get around to posting sooner. Of the Possokhov pieces, "Reflections" - on Program 4 - was the most interesting, but only when he was moving around large groups of people. In these passages, it looked like Possokhov was really exploring a movement idea, and where the choreography had its most innovation. The solos were far less successful; as I deduced from interview features in the newspapers, and from reading the program notes, Possokhov is good friends with his fellow principal dancers. Thus the choreography looked like it was just showing off his friends' virtuoso capability (particularly in Pascal Molat's dancing in the fourth movement). There was no real focus within the solos; they seemed to just appear randomly in between structured segments for the corps. A lot of the corps work in Movements I, III and IV very interesting though, so I hope his choreography continues in this direction. "Study in Motion," the middle piece on Program 5, was dull in contrast; the movement is mostly generic couples dancing without anything that made the piece particularly special or interesting. It went for about 30 minutes, and it was just too long; I didn't find any particularly interesting "study" of motion, just a lot of same-looking motion - even after seeing the ballet twice. Still, though, I think with "Reflections" we see Possokhov developing as a choreographer and I'd like to see more. "Square Dance" and "Four Temperaments" were the two Balanchine presentations on Programs 4 & 5. "Square Dance" was the Program 4 opener, and it makes me smile everytime I watch it. Gonzalo Garcia did a pretty great job in the lead male role at both performances I saw, particularly in the Sarabande section. His solo tended towards melodramatic, but still he's quite an engaging dancer. Tina LeBlanc was all firey elegance in the lead female role - fantastic light-speed footwork and a very calming demeanor throughout. Vanessa Zahorian turned in an equally valid interpretation, being more bright and sprightly, a little bit more smiley but still hitting the technical challenges perfectly. At a pre-performance lecture on Sunday, corps member Frances Chung spoke at length about the difficulty of dancing "Square Dance" in the corps - which I believe. SHe also comically mentioned that the company was having a pizza party after the performance (the last during this run) to "celebrate the end of 'Square Dance!'" I'm not sure if this mentality affected their performances, though, because at both performances, it took quite a bit of time for the corps to really come alive - they seemed to be neatly and precisely stepping through the ballet. By the end, though, the whole thing still made me smile. "Four Temperaments" closed Program 5, and it is really such a satisfyingly constructed ballet - it's got wonderful music that Balanchine's choreography completely takes advantage of. The two performances (a matinee and evening) varied between sleepy and spectacular, though. The matinee performances felt like a sleepy afternoon performance; the choreography was there and correct but there seemed to be something lacking over all. The only exception was Lorena Feijoo's marvelous Sanguinic, though lacking in attack, was still the most alive of the afternoon. At the evening performance, it seemed like the A-cast was on: Gonzalo Garcia was wonderful in Melancholic, Sarah van Patten quick and sharp in Sanguinic, Yuri Possokhov strong - though perhaps too melodramatic - in Phlegmatic and Muriel Maffre very appealing in Choleric. ANd the corps was awake in the evening too. I have to admit: I was disappointed walking out of the afternoon performance, but the evening restored my faith in SF Ballet. Tomasson programmed his "Meistens Mozart" and "Concerto Grosso" to open Program 5; both are light and fluffy ballets that show off dance technique but don't seem to do much otherwise. "Grosso" is a purely technical show-off piece for 5 male dancers. I've inadvertently seen it four times now, and its impressiveness is starting to wear on me, but the efforts of the dancers can't be denied. Nicolas LeBlanc led the afternoon and Pascal Molat the evening. Not sure entirely what to make of "Grosse Fuge," Program 4's middle piece. It was more interesting the second time around, when I could notice more details. But I don't think the female dancers moved with enough weight or gravity in this piece - their movement was too light, for they just danced like ballet dancers. The piece orginated at Nederlands Dans Theatre, according to the program, and I could help but imagine their women dancing this piece - they'd be using the same technique but just the attack or emphasis in the dancing would be entirely different. So I think this made the ballet lose some of its effect. Overall, I was quite happy with my visit to San Francisco Ballet. Good performances of "Square Dance" and "The Four Temperaments" satisfied me, and "Reflections" shows great promise for Possokhov. Programming wise, though? There didn't seem to be enough variety in the programming - all the pieces were abstract ballets that focus specifically on dancing and movement. Especially with the non-Balanchine pieces, they all began to look the same seeing them so close together, and these pieces didn't have enough of a "hook" to make then individually interesting on such a same program. Especially with "Four T's" immediately following "Study in Motion" and immediately showing how a study in motion *should* be done... [Edited to correct the title for "Gross Fuge" - which I mistakenly wrote as "Meistens Mozart" earlier]

I'm going! But not until the 18th/19th/20th (the last weekend of these programs).

Re: NYCB's tiredness at the end of a long winter season Are they the only major company to perform seasons on a 7-shows-a-week schedule, a la the schedule for plays and musicals? If so, this must be a much more grueling schedule than major companies like the Royal or Kirov, who perform at home in repertory and not every day (therefore getting breaks)... they must be understandably tired at the end of a season! Then add travel, compressed touring schedules and a theatre that is not home... I'm not making excuses I'm just saying I understand why they might look exhausted. Unfortunate that the scheduling has to work out this way for the KC tour.

Alina Cojocaru's Act I is stunning. She captures the girlish innocence and the pure exhilaration of being in love completely convincingly naturally. She IS Giselle on stage, and she acts as a complete, detailed character. One interesting thing is that she isn't just acting when she is in the spotlight - she's Giselle even on the side, playing with her mother and reacting/watching the Peasant Pas de Deux as though she were in the village herself (I find most principals either off stage or staring placidly). You fall in love with her, and your heart literally breaks with her as she quite convincingly goes mad during the Mad Scene. Then, Cojocaru comes back for Act II and knocks you out there as well. So, there is at least one remarkable Act I Giselle - I was even disappointed, after seeing Cojocaru's Giselle in Orange County, to revisit the Makarova/Baryshnikov video and find that Makarova seemed older and the girlishness more "put on" than I found with Cojocaru.

Did anyone see Sofiane Sylve and Janie Taylor in "Double Feature"? Sylve looks ravishing in the photos they posted on the NYCB web site... (under What's New - Front Row Center) I'm curious to know how she did in a more 'acting' role.

Just listened to Gershwin's Piano COncerto in F, and thought it'd be an excellent ballet. Did some research to see if it had been done - and Jerome Robbins has done a ballet to it, for New York City Ballet. But I don't recall seeing it on the rep list in the recent few years, nor has it been brought up very much in discussion...what is this ballet like? Is it considered a "non-major" work?

Just noticed that casting for "Sylvia" is up on ABT's web site, including a nice photo of Gillian Murphy and Maxim Beloserkovsky on the home page. Four combinations look like they are on the rotating list: Murphy/Beloserkovsky with Cornejo and Gomes Kent/Stiefel Herrera/Cornejo Wiles/Gomes The Murphy/Beloserkovsky combination gets opening night.

It appears that Kultur will be releasing "ABT in San Francisco" on DVD on April 26, 2005. Looks like this is an old title from 1984 that includes (from a library listing) "Airs, by Taylor, Paul; Jardin aux Lilas, by Tudor, Antony; Black Swan pas de deux, by Petipa, Marius, and Ivanov, Lev; Romeo and Juliet pas de deux;, by Macmillan, Kenneth; Great Galloping Gottschalk, by Corbett, Lynn Taylor" Found the release here: http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=KLT002849 Anybody have more info on this performance (e.g. casting, reviews from memory)?

The Orange County Performing Arts Center has anounced that the Bolshoi Ballet will be performing the Shostakovich/Ratmansky "Bright Stream" as well as Katchaturian/Grigorovich's "Spartacus" in Costa Mesa. The previously anounced dates of July 12 to 17 have been changed to August 9 to 14. Full press release below. -------------------------------- THE CENTER ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE CHANGE AND REPERTOIRE FOR BOLSHOI BALLET Acclaimed Russian company will dance West Coast Premiere of The Bright Stream and The Center Premiere of Spartacus COSTA MESA, CA – To accommodate scheduling and travel requests, the Orange County Performing Arts Center has rescheduled Russia’s legendary Bolshoi Ballet to August 9-14, 2005, rather than July 12-17 as originally announced. Subscribers to The Center’s International Dance Series are being contacted to arrange ticket exchanges. Additionally, Aleksei Ratmansky, The Bolshoi Ballet’s artistic director, has announced that the engagement will include the West Coast premiere of Dimitri Shostakovich’s The Bright Stream and Aram Kachaturian’s Spartacus, which will be the first time the renowned work has ever been performed at The Center. Single tickets for The Bolshoi Ballet will be $25-$110 and go on sale May 22 at The Center’s Box Office located at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, by calling CenterTix at (714) 556-2787, or online at www.ocpac.org. For inquiries about group ticket discounts, call The Center’s Group Sales office at (714) 755-0236. The Center’s TTY number is (714) 556-2746. The Bright Stream tells the story of three dancers who meet a group of peasants from a collective farm. All of the characters fall in love with one another, reminiscent of Shakespeare's Forest of Arden in As You Like It. Created in 1935 by Shostakovich, The Bright Stream features choreography by Fyodor Lopukhov. Almost immediately the work became part of Russian ballet lore: Stalin himself banned further performances. The dictator was not a fan of Shostakovich, and it was rumored that Stalin personally penned an editorial in Pravda criticizing the composer’s 1932 opera Lady Macbeth of Mzensk as “muddle instead of Music.” For whatever reason, Shostakovich never wrote another ballet. Lopukhov was fired as director of the Bolshoi, and the author of the scenario, Adrian Piotrovsky, disappeared in one of Stalin’s Gulags. Only now, as Russia looks back to its Soviet past in a more historical context, has this historic work resurfaced. It received its European premiere during The Bolshoi’s 2003 visit to the Palais Garnier in Paris. The Bolshoi will also bring its dramatic production of Aram Kachaturian’s Spartacus, choreographed by Yuri Grigorovich for the company in 1968. The ballet is based on the Roman slave rebellion led by Spartacus and its suppression by troops under Crassus in the first century BCE. Kachaturian’s music is also one of the great symphonic works often performed by itself in concert. THE BOLSHOI BALLET Orange County Performing Arts Center Segerstrom Hall The Bright Stream West Coast Premiere Music: Dimitri Shostakovich Choreography: Aleksei Ratmansky Designer: Boris Messerer Tuesday–Thursday – August 9-11 at 8 p.m. Spartacus Music: Aram Katchaturian Choreography: Yuri Grigorovich Designer: Simon Virsaladze Friday - August 12 at 8 p.m. Saturday – August 13 at 2 & 8 p.m. Sunday – August 14 at 2 p.m. Theater: Orange County Performing Arts Center – Segerstrom Hall 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Tickets: $25, $45, $65, $85 & $110 In Person - The Center Box Office Online - www.ocpac.org Phone - CenterTix (714) 556-2787. TTY number - (714) 556-2746. Groups - Group Sales office at (714) 755-0236 For more information about these or any other Center events, please call (714) 556-2787 or visit The Center’s Web page at www.ocpac.org. Artists and programs are subject to change. The Orange County Performing Arts Center is a private, non-profit organization. “Orange County Performing Arts Center” is a California registered trademark.

I must say about Sylve: when I saw her do several ballets in New York - Who Cares, Western Symphony, Sanguinic in the Four Temperaments, the Duchess in La Sonnambula - I thought she was a pretty enough dancer but nothing too noticeable. Her fouettes in Who Cares certainly drew notice, but they seemed more of an aberration than anything else. I didn't really, really like her until I saw her perform the 2nd Movement of Symphony in C (a debut in Orange County). There, she was meltingly lyrical and sublimely musical. She didn't dance it quite the way you'd say it 'should' be danced - the Farrellisms, as it were, were not there, and it didn't look the same way it would on someone like Wendy Whelan or Maria Kowroski. But it was absolutely mesmerizing - and there was barely an athletic trick in there. So I think Sylve is more than capabale of this lyrical quality: perhaps she just hasn't yet done a ballet this season that would show of her lyrical qualities in a similar way.

Any reports on how ABT's Giselle is going?

Naxos does actually have a pretty decent, slower paced recording of "The Sleeping Beauty". It is conducted by Andrew Mogrelia - who is now music director for the San Francisco Ballet - which explains why this recording sounds much more made for dance than other orchestral recordings. The recording is, though, of the complete score, and not of the version generally performed with the stage ballet (Aurora's variation in Act III, for example, is the full variation - not the slightly condensed version you will hear on the Durante video). Also, some tempos are very much faster than those you would hear in the theatre. That said, however, Mogrelia's recording is much more preferable than most Sleeping Beauty recordings out there - from a ballet fan's perspective. (Not to mention that the Naxos price for this 3-CD set is definetly much more palatable).

Has Sylve been doing her super-balance in Agon? At one performance in LA, she held her balance for an exceptionally long time during the second pas de trois' intro; that, of course drew mighty applause. But she didn't do it at the second performance I attended, so I wondered if she does this regularly, or if it is part of the choreography (of course I know its something that just isn't possible to replicate every single time).

I do this, too! I've imagined someone choreographing something to Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony - has this been done before?

Hooray! Congratulations to all. As a fan, I'm especially pleased with Bouder's promotion; she really popped out at me at every NYCB performance I've attended.

I have Bar down on both my casting sheets for Agon from Los Angeles..

I haven't seen any of the above perform Giselle, but I was pleasantly surprised by Herrera's Juliet last year. I was a bit worried that it would be a very flat interpretation, but especially Act I was pretty good with the Balcony Pas de Deux taking full advantage of Herrera's lyrical qualities. Reyes' Juliet, on the other hand, was overacted and I was less impressed. I don't know how this will translate to Giselle though - Herrera had trouble with the dramatic scenes, and of course Giselle has a giant one at the end of Act I. But, Act II might work better on her because she can use her good technique to more effect. But I, too would be curious to hear from someone who has seen these Giselles.

Some nice casting, pulled out of the press release: MIXED REPERTORY PROGRAM, Thursday, April 28 Theme and Variations: Wiles, Gomes "Swan Lake" White Swan Pas de deux: Kent, Corella Tchaikovsky Pas de deux: Reyes, Stiefel "Swan Lake" Black Swan Pas de deux: Herrera, Carreno Ballet Imperial: Murphy, Beloserkovsky, Abrera GISELLE Friday, April 29: Ferri, Corella, Abrera Saturday, April 30 (matinee): Reyes, Beloserkovsky, Murphy Saturday, April 30 (evening): Kent, Carreno, Wiles Sunday, May 1 (matinee): Herrera, Gomes, Part -------------------------------------------------------------- AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE AT L.A.'S DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILION 5 performances April 28 through May 1, 2005 Giselle Four Performances April 29 through May 1 Mixed Repertory Program One Performance only April 28 1/18/2005 - American Ballet Theatre, America’s National Ballet Company™, lead by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie, returns to the Dance at the Music Center series at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for a second consecutive season April 28 to May 1. The programs include four performances of the Company’s acclaimed production of Giselle and a single evening of repertory works to music of Tchaikovsky including Theme and Variations, Ballet Imperial and three pas de deux. Four casts will dance Giselle beginning with Alessandra Ferri (Giselle), Angel Corella (Albrecht) and Stella Abrera (Myrta) on Friday evening, April 29. On Saturday April 30, Xiomara Reyes, Maxim Beloserkovsky, and Gillian Murphy dance at the matinee, and Julie Kent, Jose Manuel Carreño, and Michele Wiles dance in the evening. The season ends on Sunday matinee May 1 with Paloma Herrera, Marcelo Gomes and Veronika Part leading the cast. Ferri’s appearance in Los Angeles celebrates her 20th Anniversary season with American Ballet Theatre. Ferri joined the Company as a Principal Dancer in 1985 following a five-year career with The Royal Ballet. She has danced nearly all of the major ballerina roles including Nikiya in La Bayadère, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and the title role in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon, as well as such contemporary works as Jerome Robbins’ Other Dances and Agnes de Mille’s Fall River Legend. Ferri is a permanent guest artist with La Scala in Milan and renowned as an international guest artist. The engagement opens on April 28 with a program of Mixed Repertory to music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky. The program has three works by George Balanchine -- Theme and Variations led by Michele Wiles and Marcelo Gomes, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux danced by Xiomara Reyes and Ethan Stiefel, and Ballet Imperial led by Gillian Murphy, Maxim Beloserkovsky and Stella Abrera. Two additional Pas de Deux will be performed. Swan Lake Act II Pas de Deux (White Swan Pas de Deux) after choreography by Lev Ivanov, will be danced by Julie Kent and Angel Corella. Swan Lake Act III Pas de Deux (Black Swan Pas de Deux) after choreography by Marius Petipa, will be danced by Paloma Herrera and Jose Manuel Carreño. Three Music Center Spotlight Award winners - Misty Copeland, Ashley Ellis and Jennifer Whalen – will also be dancing with the company during this engagement. Countrywide Financial is the National Sponsor of American Ballet Theatre and Cole Haan is a Leading Benefactor. Tickets for Giselle and the Mixed Repertory at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, are priced from $25.00 to $95.00, and are available at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Box Office, 135 North Grand Avenue. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster Phone Charge at 213/365-3500 or 714/740-7878, online at www.ticketmaster.com, and at all Ticketmaster Outlets including Tower Records, Robinsons-May, Wherehouse Music, Tu Musica, and Ritmo Latino