Paquita

Here is the press release: Chan Hon Goh has baby boy Congratulations to Chan and Chun! I'm looking forward to Chan's return in the fall.

Casting is up! Jewels casting For so few performances there are a LOT of casts... Heather Ogden and Xiao Nan Yu are both dancing in all 3 sections.

NBoC audiences tend to divide themselves into two camps. There are those who find his ballets (or at least his reinterpretations of classics) generally unoriginal and dark. There are those who call him a genius and the best thing that ever happened to Canadian ballets. I wouldn't say that the "Kudelka-bashing" is a new phenomenon. It existed well before his retirement from the role of AD. However, perhaps those who dislike his work were less vocal when he was in the powerful position of AD. Canadian critics also seem to have mixed opinions about Kudelka. His most recent full-length "An Italian Straw Hat" was not particularly well-received. His Swan Lake got raves from the National Post- but they also funded part of the production. The Globe and Mail was initially quite negative when SL premiered in 1999, partly because in the Kim Glasco Affair they sided with the ballerina. Some argue she was fired because she voiced concern over the budget of Kudelka's SL. The Globe's dance critic, Paula Citron, now works with the NBoC conducting ballet talks and writing program notes. Her reviews of Kudelka's ballets are sometimes over the top with praise. She wrote that Balanchine's choreography looked "elementary" next to Kudelka's compex steps

Kudelka's Cinderella is not traditional, but it is very child-friendly. The NYCB program is an excellent choice obviously, but Cinderella has the advantage of a very familiar narrative (some things are changed, but the gist of the story remains the same). Kudelka's production is vibrant, witty and magical. The sets and costumes are stunning (a jewel encrusted giant pumpkin, an all black and white ball, art deco designs) and the choreography is actually quite engaging and original at times (as opposed to his SL!). Either program seems like a good choice!

I find Kudelka's revision of the white acts irritating and unnecessary. Lewis points out a good example with the baby swans. One thing that bothered me was that he modified some of the port de bras so that the swans arms are not held alonge but rather curled over the head, cutting the line short (sort of like in Mathew Bourne's version). See Heather Ogden in the background of this picture. Act II

It's been great to read everyone's reports! Personally, I am not a fan of Kudelka's production and I think it's a shame, as LAC mentioned, that this is what the company is taking on tour. For the past few years, the NBoC has performed Kudelka's work almost exclusively when on tour (The Contract; The Firebird; there, below; Chacony; etc.). Kudelka was quite vocal about moulding the company in his image. He wanted *his* choreography to be the star of the company, rather than any particular dancer(s). Hopefully, with Kain's directorship the NBoC will move towards a more balanced repertoire. I guess you could say I was against this production from the start. Kudelka should just keep his hands off the classics! Furthermore, the $1.7 million price tag put the company into debt and was one of the major sources of disagreement that led to the Kimberly Glasco fiasco. On the other hand, the Bruhn version that the company had been performing earlier had its own flaws too. The design looked dated and some of the choroegraphy was lacking. Bruhn also expanded the psychological depths of price's role; some argue that his interpretation of the prince is quite Freudian. Nevertheless, Kudelka's Swan Lake is hardly an improvement and it certainly wasn't worth the money. Nureyev's Sleeping Beauty also put the company into a huge debt. It was a big risk, but it paid off when they brought it on tour. Nureyev knew that they needed to go 'all out' for this production. But Kudelka's Swan Lake is more 'out there' than 'all out'! Are those mechanical swans in the prologue even necessary? What do they add to the ballet? Don't even get me started on Rothbart's costumes. How are we to make sense of it? He goes from a sort of 'dark angel', naked with gigantic wings to 'hippie/sewer man' in that green unitard and headband to some kind of Batman wannabe in a black muscle suit. I agree with LAC here. Kudelka doesn't seem to be trying to send a message. He just presents an ambiguous and unclear message and hopes that people will label him as a post-modern genius. I feel that he has stripped the ballet of it's original beauty and dignity. The Act I waltz calls for an elegant couples dance. Instead we get a male petit allegro exercise. The black swan pdd becomes a menage a trois between the prince, Odile and Rothbart- not to mention Rothbart's pervasive presence in Act II. I agree with Helene that the prince's role isn't actually emphasized that much. He is on stage a lot, but mostly standing around, looking mopey. He seems to dance a lot more with Benno than with anyone, but I doubt this was meant as some homoerotic suggestion. I certainly don't appreciate the treatment of women in the production, however. The women fall into two categories: evil and domineering (like the Queen) or weak and dependent objects (the princesses, the wench). Ogden has been performing Odette/Odile for a few years now and has grown into the role considerably. I noticed a big difference from the Fall 2005 performances and the last run before that. For LAC, Kudelka's Cinderella is actually quite a departure from his previous work. I think you might be surprised. I myself really enjoyed it. It's comical, witty, original and touching. His adaptations of the classics (Nutcracker, Swan Lake) are not a great indicator of his choreographic skill that's for sure.

Welcome Harry! You might want to look at the National Ballet of Canada forum here to find out more about the company. I've seen Kudelka's Firebird live and on video (it was shown on the CBC- a Canadian TV network). It's interesting to compare the two, as they added quite a few special effects on video. It's not my favourite Kudelka ballet (I much prefer his recent Cinderella), but I'm glad you enjoyed it. It is also in the repertoire of ABT and the Houston Ballet.

Kudelka's version for the NBoC is having its 10th anniversary this year. I don't think I will be seeing it again this year though. I'm not particularly fond of his version- the skating bears and dancing horse get old after a few viewings (or just one...). This year I will be seeing the Canadian Ballet Theatre's version (formerly known as the Academy of Ballet and Jazz). The guest dancers this year are Svetlana Lunkina and Ruslan Skvortsov from the Bolshoi, and Veronika Part (presumably the snow queen?). Here's a link for anyone who's interested: CBT Nutcracker

In this month's NBoC newsletter, there's a nice little piece of Rebekah Rimsay. Enjoy! Meet Rebekah Rimsay

I was also there for the saturday matinee. I agree that Ogden still seems a bit detached, but less so than in the past. She is certainly more than technically sound- throwing in doubles throughout the fouettes. I found her Odile slightly more convincing than her Odette. What do you think? Kish has lovely lines and an engaging presence, but sometimes he is unable to mask the difficulty in the steps. I found his Act I solo a little shaky. As for the rest of the performance, I enjoyed Jillian Vanstone's Russian variation in Act III. Nan Wang danced Benno. He is quite young and shows promise. He is very tall and carries himself with elegance. His acting felt a bit unnatural (big colgate smile all the time) but with time should improve. He was having a bit of trouble with his double tours but already has wonderful grand jetes and entrelaisses. And yes, sparklesocks, I have seen the original cast: Hodgkinson/Antonijevic in this ballet. Both are superb in their roles!

Cylla von Tiedemann Her webpage She does most of the photos for the NBoC, Toronto Dance Theatre, and other major Canadian companies. I should also mention former NBoC dancer Johan Persson. He brings a unique perspective to his photos.

Casting is up: La Sylphide and Intermezzo Casting Hubbe himself will be performing (opposite Jennifer Fournier) for one of the nights. I would love to hear any comments on his James. Opening night goes to Aleksandar Antonijevic and Xiao Nan Yu. I am so thrilled that Nan will be dancing this role. I don't believe she has appeared in any full-lengths since before she gave birth. She is fairly tall, however, and I wonder how she will look with Antonijevic? I saw them dance some excerpts at this year's Ballet by the Water (outdoor summer performances) but it was very hard to see I was looking forward to see Chan Hon Goh's sylph, but since she is on maternity leave we will have to wait for a revival later on! It is nice to see 5 different casts- lots of the dancers will have the chance to try out the roles. However, it's a shame that for most of them, they will only have one performance.

Hi sparklesocks! Welcome to the board I am also really excited for the fall season and Apollo is one of my favourite ballets. Which dancers are you looking forward to seeing?

Burnise Silvius recently left the company to return to the South African Ballet. That's all I've heard.

Thanks for the heads up gracey. For others who are interested, here is a link to the school's website with the performance dates. The Nutcracker

Apologies for not replying earlier... I went to one of the screening at the Toronto Film Festival a few weeks ago. The film is stunning!! The footage is priceless, the interviews are insightful, and the way the documentary was put together nicely captured the spirit of the Ballets Russes. The resilience and dedication of these artists is so moving. The icing on the cake was staying in the theatre after the screening for a Q & A session with the directors and FREDDIE FRANKLIN! They all got a long and well-deserved standing ovation:D

Thank you, Ostrich, for your report! I'm glad to hear that it was a good performance. As for Vogel's age, I'm not sure what it is. But I saw him in the 2002 Bruhn Prize, and the competition is open to dancers aged 18-23. So he should be between 21-26 years old now.

Great topic! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that's a sucker for romantic movies:P I agree about many of the films previously mentioned, especially "Umbrellas of Cherbourg". "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" are two of my favourites. I prefer "Sunset" but it wouldn't be so poignant without "Sunrise". The characters and the dialogue are so authentic and natural. I love "Strictly Ballroom" too. So cheesy but so good! "Amelie" is lovely in all its quirks.

There have been a few changes to the repertoire for next season. The Cage has been replaced with Eliot Feld's Intermezzo, Agon has been replaced with Apollo, and the Mrozewski premiere has been pushed back (what ballet will go in its place is as yet unannounced). So there will be less company premieres than we expected. It's a little dissapointing as I have never seen The Cage or Agon live before. However, I won't complain. Intermezzo is a beautiful work and I could watch Apollo over and over without ever tiring of it!

Noreen, unfortunately I couldn't make it to the symposium. I had heard about it though and really wanted to go.

This is actually Kudelka's pas de deux "Romeo and Juliet before parting". It is set to the same Prokofiev score, but that's about all it has in common with the Cranko full-length version the NBoC performs. The dancers are dressed in white and are bare-footed. Tanya Howard performed this pdd at a Prokofiev symposium at U of T earlier this year (February?). "Romeo and Juliet before parting" has not been performed at the Hummingbird Centre before. I hope you enjoy tonight's show and post your opinions on it!

Tanya was beautiful as Juliet last night (from what I could see standing at the back... I'm quite short so I was pretty much on demi pointe the whole time trying to get a better view!). It was nice to see several of the dancers who weren't performing in the audience showing their support. I also spotted Nikolaj Hubbe, as he is in town staging La Sylphide. It was almost as enjoyable watching him watching the dancers! (Especially during James' variation). Unfortunately, from where I was standing, I missed a lot of Nehemiah Kish's batterie. Both Greta Hodgkinson and Aleksandar Antonijevic were marvellous in Theme and Variations. By that time (it's the last piece on the program), I found a better spot;) I will stop by tonight too if time allows.

This year's outdoor summer performances will include excerpts from La Sylphide, Kudelka's "Romeo and Juliet Before Parting" and "Full Circles", and Theme and Variations. Casting has been released: http://www.national.ballet.ca/Media/showPr...p?id=20050819-1 I will be there tonight, and possibly tomorrow to see Aleksandar Antonijevic and Xiao Nan Yu in La Sylphide and the new principal dancers Heather Ogden and Nehemiah Kish in Theme. Let's hope the weather is cooperative Anyone else planning on going? Get there early if you want a seat!

There have been a few ballet versions of "Beauty and the Beast". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens is presenting Kader Belarbi's version this year. Link The Royal Winnipeg Ballet performs David Nixon's version.

Christopher Body, who left the NBoC to dance in "Movin' Out" and "Contact" will be returning to the company:) (I received the press release in the mail but they haven't updated their website yet).