Paquita

FYI:

(from company website)

"Celia Franca film premiere

The National Ballet of Canada invites you to join Celia Franca and Karen Kain for the world premiere screening of a new documentary film by Veronica Tennant, C.C.

Celia Franca: Tour de Force .

On Tuesday, October 3, Veronica Tennant will unveil her film at the Carlu, the site of the Eaton Auditorium where The National Ballet of Canada made its debut on November 12, 1951. The film documents the life of Celia Franca and her tenacity in establishing the National Ballet in just ten months. It includes never-seen-before footage as well as interviews with Ms. Franca and other dance luminaries.

After the screening, mingle with alumni of the National Ballet and other special guests as we pay special tribute to Miss Franca and her dedication and vision in founding The National Ballet of Canada.

The Carlu

College Park (College Subway), 444 Yonge Street, 7 th Floor

Tuesday, October 3, 2006, 6:00pm, with reception to follow.

Tickets are $50 each

Space is limited. Please call 416-345-9595 by September 22.

This evening is sponsored by Burgundy Asset Management.

Celia Franca: Tour de Force is produced by Sound Venture Productions. Celia Franca: Tour de Force Special Features DVD is produced by Veronica Tennant Productions and Sound Venture Productions and has been made possible with the generous support of Donald Ross and David Banks."

I really enjoyed Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin" (maybe because of the ballet!) and Dostoevsky's "Notes from the Underground" and of course, "Crime and Punishment".

Kimberley Glasco did a few performances in Toronto as a guest. She's also taught some master classes in various local studios. I think after the whole fiasco she has been trying very much to stay below the radar (can you blame her?). It was written briefly in the newspaper that she has bought a new house and had a baby. Other than that, there hasn't been much news.

It seems like the event is not happening this year, unfortunately. It also looks like the opera and symphony concerts are out too; I haven't seen any advertisements for them.

In addition to the publications already mentioned, I also read Dance International, a Canadian magazine. It's published in Vancouver and contains a lot of Canadian content but also includes quarterly reports from NYC, San Francisco, London, Paris, Russia, Italy, Denmark etc. In major Canadian cities it's fairly easy to find at bookstores and newstands and I've also seen it in in NYC and Paris. You can find previous articles, back issues, and subscription info on their website which is kept up to date.

I was actually at the telecast, like mom2-- didn't manage to get tickets soon enough. But I did go to the opera last week for one of the celebratory concerts. I was sitting in the 4th ring centre and sight lines were very good. The seats are also such that if someone tall sits in front of you, your view isn't obstructed (a great bonus for someone short like me!). The acoustics, as promised, are wonderful. I think one newspaper article said that someone on stage could talk to someone in the 5th ring without raising his/her voice! The stage itself is slightly less wide than the Hummingbird but much deeper. Overall it feels much more intimate. Inside, the design is very stark and modern, yet open.

Just read the Toronto Star Review by Susan Walker.

Whoops! She thought "Romeo and Juliet before parting" was "an uncostumed performance" of John Cranko's choreography. Just to clarify, it was actually choreographed by Kudelka for Sylvain Lafortune and Peggy Baker.

Greta Hodgkinson and Guillaume Cote looked stunning in Grand Pas Classique. I saw them perform the pdd during the spring season as well. This time she wore an off-white tutu instead of the black one, and it looked much nicer. Cote's turning sissones (not sure what the exact term is) in the coda were magnificent. Hodgkinson's turns, as always, were right on the mark. I also enjoyed seeing Hodgkinson with Aleksandar Antonijevic in Herman Scherman. They both looked very comfortable in that style.

Keiichi Hirano and Stacey Shiori Minagawa gave a lovely performance of the bluebird pdd. They have a nice rapport on stage and it looks like this is becoming one of their signature pieces. The other classical pdd came from Sonia Rodriguez and Piotr Stanczyk who did Don Q. Rodriguez really turned things up a notch, with her sharp technique and smoldering gaze. Stancyzk was more tentative, but gave a solid performance nonetheless.

Heather Ogden was simply a joy to watch in the Tchaikovsky pdd. Along with Nehemiah Kish, she was the first to appear on that stage, and didn't look the least bit nervous. She really rose to the occassion, letting her personality shine through as she nailed those difficult steps. Kish lacks strength and stamina, but he gave his all during his variation. In the series of tours a la seconde in the coda, he started to lose steam and botched the last pirouette. It seemed like he lost his spot or lost balance. After that, he seemed a bit nervous, so the big fish dives were not as deep as they could have been. He held Ogden almost horizontal, instead of at an angle.

Rounding out the program, there were two Kudelka works. Xiao Nan Yu and Ryan Boorne appeared in a waltz from Desir. It's one of the more distinctive of the pdd in Desir, where the man holds the woman's foot through developes and promenades. At the end, he is on the floor and kisses her outstretched pointe shoe. Finally, Rebekah Rimsay and Piotr Stancyzk danced in "Romeo and Juliet before parting" which is IMO, quite banal. The costumes look like undergarments and the capri unitard for the woman is particularly unflattering. Still, the dancers made the most of the choreography they were given.

It was a very special evening. As Karen Kain mentioned, good things happen to those who wait, and Toronto has clearly waited so long for this opera house. At the end of her speech, it looked like she cried a little (mom2, am I imagining this, or did you see it too?). I felt quite emotional too, just to be witnessing such an important event in the NBoC's history. It was great to see so many of the dancers on stage (it's just too bad that Chan Hon Goh isn't back yet). It definitely whetted the audience's appetite for the upcoming season!

I'm using someone else's computer so I don't have time to say much, but I know other posters were there! Just wanted to start the thread going

Overall, I really enjoyed the program tonight. It was a good mix and you could see the dancers' joy at finally being able to perform in their own opera house!

I agree with Juliet. That sequence seems so oddly out of place with the rest of the ballet. Not only was it weird because they are adults walking on their knees, but I also found their mechanical movements and makeup (masks? I forget; it's been a year since I saw this ballet) eerie.

Based on this production I'd have to say that Kudelka is a much better storyteller than a choreographer.

Those of us who saw his full-length narrative ballet "The Contract" might beg to differ (at least I do!). I think Kudelka has the benefit of the audience already being so familiar with the Cinderella story. But with "The Contract", this was not the case, and his storytelling was quite muddled. The characters' motivations were unclear and the progression of the plot was awkward.

I do agree that in his production of "Cinderella" the charm is in the modern interpretation he has chosen (e.g. Cinderella as a feisty and strong-willed woman, rather than a damsel in distress), as well as the designs, more so than any innovation in the steps.

Having seen this ballet at its premiere and again last year, it is so interesting to read everyone's thoughts! Now I wish I could see this Reyes/Cote casting!

Hmm...! I'll have to go and check my program again. Perhaps it was another dancer I saw? In any case, she looked very young to me (well, she looked like a very young woman pretending to be old!). I assumed it was one of the students... Then again, it's very hard to tell with the stage make-up and I was sitting at the very back with no opera glasses!

It was just unfortunate because Kudelka had actually created the role of Ferdinand in "Italian Straw Hat" specially for Antonijevic and because of the injury, he didn't get to dance at the world premiere. But I'm definitely thankful that Guillaume Cote could step in at the last moment! He's certainly one of the NBoC's MVP's!

I was there at the very last performance on saturday night. I was quite impressed with Naoya Ebe, who danced James. He tackled that difficult variation with ease- lovely beats and stunning height on his jumps. (We also saw him as the 'angel of death' in "Four Last Songs"). Erica Horwood was a convincing sylph, very light and gentle. Deborah Hess was a very dramatic madge! It's incredible to see that kind of acting from someone so young!

I wasn't crazy about the choreography for Ephebos, although I thought the 5 young men did an excellent job. It's a very athletic piece and their energy level remained constant throughout (I was getting tired just watching all those jumps!).

Just to second mom2's comment, Adeline Kaiser and Pietro Zambello from the Royal Ballet School were stunning in the Concerto pdd (MacMillan/Shoshtakovich). They danced with the poise and confidence of professionals. Zambello was a sensitive partner and Kaiser's adagio technique is near flawless. Definitely a highlight of the evening.

The dolls piece from Stuttgart ("Munecos") was danced by Anais Bueno Garces and Mariusz Czochrowski. Both have the strong technical foundation that allows them overlay it with stylized movements and comedic touches. The audience was laughing from start to finish! At some student performances, the dancers are (understandably) so nervous and tentative. It's a pleasure to see young dancer's just having a good time on stage!

The Hamburg dancers, Anna-Lena Wieg and Mattias Iaconianni, performed a pdd from Neumeier's "Daphnis and Chloe". Together they evoked the calm, pastoral feeling of the ballet. It was a beautifully understated performance.

The NBS students performed a Kudelka pdd, "Four Proverbs". I don't have much to say about this one. All I can remember, unfortunately, is being distracted by Michael Torke's repetitive music with the proverbs from the Bible being sung in a rather banal way. I found it quite distracting.

The last piece, Rudi van Dantzig's "Four Last Songs" provided a fitting closure for the evening. It was so special to see the dancers from 4 different schools all working together. Once again, I was most impressed by the Royal Ballet School dancers, Moe Nieda and Leigh Alderson, who danced with maturity beyond their years. I also enjoyed the choreography.

Next year, I believe the new theatre will be finished. I'm sure it will be wonderful for all the students to have such great facilities!

I'm especially thrilled for Jillian Vanstone. I've been watching her closely since she joined the corps in 2000. She is certainly a rising star!

I'm also glad that we'll have a new male principal. The number of male guest artists that the company has used in the last while (Nikolaj Hubbe, Marcelo Gomes, Jason Reily etc.) reflects a lack of strong male leads. When Antonijevic was injured last spring, Guillaume Cote had to dance almost everything!

Mixed Program casting:

Petrouchka

Ballerina STACEY SHIORI MINAGAWA (May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm)

SONIA RODRIGUEZ (May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm)

JILLIAN VANSTONE (May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm)

Petrouchka ALEKSANDAR ANTONIJEVIC (May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm)

GUILLAUME CÔTÉ (May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm)

PIOTR STANCZYK (May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm)

Moor RYAN BOORNE (May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm)

JOSHUA GRANT (May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm)

Charlatan HAZAROS SURMEYAN (May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm)

TOMAS SCHRAMEK (May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm)

Chief Nursemaid JENNIFER FOURNIER (May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm)

XIAO NAN YU (May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm)

JULIE HAY (May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm)

Chief Coachman KEVIN BOWLES (May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 11 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm)

A Delicate Battle

May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm

STACEY SHIORI MINAGAWA, TANYA HOWARD, LISA ROBINSON, TANYA EVIDENTE, KEIICHI HIRANO, DONG HYUN SEO, DALLAS BLAGG

ALEJANDRA PEREZ-GOMEZ with ETIENNE LAVIGNE

STEPHANIE HUTCHISON with RYAN BOORNE

JE-AN SALAS with CHRISTOPHER BODY

May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 2 pm

JE-AN SALAS, JULIE HAY, JORDANA DAUMEC, JENNA SAVELLA, RICHARD LANDRY, NAN WANG, BRETT VAN SICKLE

KRISTA DOWSON with KEVIN BOWLES

TANYA HOWARD with JOSEPH WELBES

LAURA BOLTON with ETIENNE LAVIGNE

There, below

May 10 at 7:30 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm

TANYA HOWARD with NEHEMIAH KISH

ALEJANDRA PEREZ-GOMEZ with JOSEPH WELBES

STEPHANIE HUTCHISON with CHRISTOPHER BODY

SONIA RODRIGUEZ with PIOTR STANCZYK

JULIE HAY with ETIENNE LAVIGNE

May 11 at 2 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm

STEPHANIE HUTCHISON with CHRISTOPHER BODY

LISA ROBINSON with JOSHUA GRANT

SOPHIE LETENDRE with RICHARD LANDRY

REBEKAH RIMSAY with ETIENNE LAVIGNE

XIAO NAN YU with RYAN BOORNE

May 11 at 7:30 pm

TANYA HOWARD with NEHEMIAH KISH

LISE-MAIRE JOURDAIN with JOSEPH WELBES

STEPHANIE HUTCHISON with CHRISTOPHER BODY

REBEKAH RIMSAY with ETIENNE LAVIGNE

XIAO NAN YU and RYAN BOORNE

May 13 at 2 pm

STEPHANIE HUTCHISON with CHRISTOPHER BODY

LISE -MARIE JOURDAIN with JOSEPH WELBES

SOPHIE LETENDRE with RICHARD LANDRY

REBEKAH RIMSAY with ETIENNE LAVIGNE

XIAO NAN YU with RYAN BOORNE

May 14 at 2 pm

TANYA HOWARD with NEHEMIAH KISH

ALEJANDRA PEREZ-GOMEZ with JOSEPH WELBES

SOPHIE LETENDRE with RICHARD LANDRY

SONIA RODRIGUEZ with PIOTR STANCZYK

JULIE HAY with ETIENNE LAVIGNE

Grand Pas Classique

May 10 at 7:30 pm/May 11 at 7:30 pm/May 13 at 7:30 pm

GRETA HODGKINSON with GUILLAUME CÔTÉ

May 11 at 2 pm/May 12 at 7:30 pm

HEATHER OGDEN with NEHEMIAH KISH

C.V.

May 13 at 2:00 pm/May 14 at 2:00 pm

JENNIFER FOURNIER, TANYA HOWARD, STEPHANIE HUTCHISON, CHRISTOPHER BODY

I'll be there on wednesday night. It's nice to see they've added "Grand Pas" to fill out the evening. I'm sure both Hodgkinson and Cote will be great in it. It will be interesting to see Antonijevic, such a refined classical dancer in physique, portray the awkward, pigeon-toed clown.

James Kudelka also choreographed a ballet to Stravinsky's "The Fairy's Kiss", Le Baiser de la Fee, for the Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1996. It was presented shortly after in Toronto as part of an All Stravinsky program, however I didn't find it particularly memorable.

Romeo and Juliet casting is up:

I will be seeing Rodriguez/Antonijevic and Hodgkinson/Reilly. I'm interested to see Reilly as I've read good things about him. I wish I could see Ogden and Cote too; I think this was one of the first ballets they danced together. Yu and Kish is an interesting pair. I've never seen them dance together. They don't seem particularly suited to each other (physically), but you never know... As mentioned in another thread, Karen Kain has been playing around with the company's partnerships with some pleasantly surprising results!

Juliet

Sonia Rodriguez (Apr. 29 at 7:30 pm, May 7 at 2 pm)

Greta Hodgkinson (Apr. 30 at 2 pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm)

Heather Ogden (May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm)

Xiao Nan Yu (May 4 at 2pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm)

Romeo

Aleksandar Antonijevic (Apr. 29 at 7:30 pm, May 7 at 2 pm)

Jason Reilly (Apr. 30 at 2 pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm)

Guillaume Côté (May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm)

Nehemiah Kish* (May 4 at 2pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm)

Mercutio

Piotr Stanczyk (Apr. 29 at 7:30 pm/ May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm/ May 7 at 2 pm)

Richard Landry (April 30 at 2 pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm)

Keiichi Hirano* (May 4 at 2 pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm)

Benvolio

Keiichi Hirano (April 29 at 7:30 pm/ May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm/ May 7 at 2 pm)

Piotr Stanczyk (April 30 at 2 pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm)

James Leja* (May 4 at 2pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm)

Tybalt

Etienne Lavigne (April 29 at 7:30 pm/ Arpil 30 at 2pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm/ May 7 at 2 pm)

Christopher Body (May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm)

Ryan Boorne May 4 at 2 pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm)

Paris

Christopher Body (April 29 at 7:30 pm/ April 30 at 2pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm/ May 7 at 2 pm)

Dong Hyun Seo* (May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 4 at 2pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm)

Lady Capulet

Victoria Bertram (April 29 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm)

Joanna Ivey (April 30 at 2 pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm)

Alejandra Perez-Gomez* (May 4 at 2 pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm)

Stephanie Hutchison* (May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 7at 2 pm)

Lord Capulet

Tomas Schramek (Apr. 29 at 7:30 pm/ May 3 at 7:30 pm/ May 4 at 2 pm/ May 5 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 7:30 pm/ May 7 at 2 pm)

Ryan Boorne (Apr. 30 at 2 pm/ May 4 at 7:30 pm/ May 6 at 2 pm)

Casting subject to change.

* = Debut

As for the mixed program, casting has not been anounced but some photos of Antonijevic are up on the web Petrouchka I wonder who the other Petrouchkas will be? Cote? Kish? Stanczyk?

My apologies if this has already been mentioned, but has anyone seen the ABT ads in magazines this month? There is one with Ethan Stiefel and Gillian Murphy in Swan Lake, except they are actually IN a lake (bodies half submerged- I hope that's not a real tutu being ruined!) kissing. ABT usually has such beautiful photos, I was shocked by this one that looked more like a Harlequin romance novel cover. I hope people don't expect to see that in Swan Lake!

It's not very comprehensive, but I enjoyed "Balanchine's Tchaikovsky" by Solomon Volkov. I think it's out of print, but a lot of libraries have it.

I went yesterday night. Highlights for me were Rebekah Rimsay in Emeralds (Paul role) and Xiao Nan Yu in Rubies (Neary role). Wow! Rimsay's perfect placement and lyrical port de bras were lovely in her solo. Nan was playful and confident. Her penchees going off the stage were to die for! As expected, Heather Ogden and Guillaume Cote were brilliant together in the Rubies pdd.

Diamonds went smoothly, with Sonia Rodriguez and Aleksandar Antonijevic. Tanya Evidente's tutu got caught on her sleeve for a while but she fixed it when she went off stage.

Some nice links in the Feb. newsletter of the company.

A Day in the Life of Jennifer Fournier

(some nice photos including a few that I haven't seen before)

Meet Julie Hay

Enjoy!

From the press release: "The production will have a $700,000 restoration to bring back the Nicholas Georgiadis costumes, wigs and scenery to their original splendour."

So it sounds like they will still be the same costumes, but for that much money I'm sure considerable changes will be made. The costumes do look very cumbersome, lets hope that the new ones have some of that weight taken off!

I think the company is just 'fixing up' the original costumes from Nureyev's production.

The company's inaugural season in the Four Seasons Centre for Performing Arts was just announced. Press Release

Nureyev's Sleeping Beauty seems to be an appropriate opener. There was talk years ago that Kudelka would be mounting his new version of Beauty for this ocassion (this extended further than gossip, it was mentioned in the Globe and Mail) but I am glad that this is not the case.

Overall it looks like a good mix of old and new. Balanchine's Don Quixote is obviously a highlight. Polyphonia should be exciting too. I am not too familiar with the new Feld work (a company premiere) "A Footstep of Air". Can anyone describe it a little? I really enjoyed his "Intermezzo" this season.

It will be nice to have the Erik Bruhn Prize again. There is always so much talent!

Also interesting to note that the season schedule has shifted from Feb. and May to March and June.