Paquita

Here's a link to an interview with soloist Patrick Lavoie: http://www.national.ballet.ca/InsideTheCom..._patrick_lavoie He talks about working on Kudelka's new full-length ballet and his relationship with fellow soloist Je-An Salas.

I haven't seen Ashton's Cinderella, so I can't comment on that. I've only seen the Stevenson version that NBoC used to perform. But Kudelka's version really isn't that "darK"- certainly not when you compare it to his other works. It has a fresh sense of humour (I doubt that an alcoholic step-mother would find her way into any other production) and a different angle in terms of the story. At the end of the ballet, Cinderella and the Prince have a quiet, intimate wedding and retreat to their garden. Instead of climbing the hierarchy of social class, Cinderella escapes from it.

Kudelka's new full-length opens on sunday. Casting was released today (a little later than usual). Aleksandar Antonijevic, on whom the role of Ferdinand was created, will not be dancing as he has an injury It seems that there have been a lot of casting changes and shuffling of dancers for the spring season. The dancers have had an especially busy year with the recent tour to the BAM, and Kudelka's new work is supposed to be very difficult technically. Principal Casting Ferdinand, bridegroom of Hélène GUILLAUME CÔTÉ (May 1 at 2 pm/ May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm/ May 15 at 2 pm) NEHEMIAH KISH (May 12 at 2 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 7:30 pm) Hélène, Ferdinand's bride CHAN HON GOH (May 1 at 2 pm/ May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 15 at 2 pm) HEATHER OGDEN (May 12 at 2 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 7:30 pm) BURNISE SILVIUS (May 12 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm) Emil, lover of Anaïs RYAN BOORNE (May 1 at 2 pm/ May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm/ May 15 at 2 pm) PATRICK LAVOIE (May 12 at 2 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 7:30 pm) Anaïs, wife of Beaujolais GRETA HODGKINSON (May 1 at 2 pm/ May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm/ May 15 at 2 pm) SONIA RODRIGUEZ (May 12 at 2 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 7:30 pm) Felix, valet to Ferdinand PIOTR STANCZYK (May 1 at 2 pm/ May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm/ May 15 at 2 pm) RICHARD LANDRY (May 12 at 2 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 7:30 pm) Virginia, maid to Anaïs REBEKAH RIMSAY (May 1 at 2 pm/ May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 12 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm/ May 15 at 2 pm) STACEY SHIORI MINAGAWA (May 12 at 2pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 7:30 pm) Clara, a milliner, formerly jilted by Ferdinand JENNIFER FOURNIER (May 1 at 2 pm/ May 11 at 7:30 pm/ May 15 at 2 pm) XIAO NAN YU (May 12 at 2 pm/ May 13 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 7:30 pm) STEPHANIE HUTCHISON (May 12 at 7:30 pm/ May 14 at 2 pm)

I was at the same performance as tigger. Greta was indeed lovely. mom2, I also felt that she looked very thin. I wasn't sure if it was the way the costume hung on her or what? I missed Antonijevic, but I did enjoy Molina's performance. He is a good all-around dancer, and I thought he played the role of "Prince Charming" quite well. There wasn't a whole lot of chemistry between him and Greta, but he probably did not have much time to rehearse, since he was called in last-minute. As the stepsisters, Stephanie Hutchison and Lise-Marie Jourdain were a delight! Even after the curtain fell, they were both completely in character, stealing the show with their outrageous antics during the curtain calls.

I was at the gala as well. As always, it was a superb and well organized. The program had a nice variety of classical and more contemporary ballets, as well as those stunning tango dancers! Thank you for posting, Marga. I totally agree with your comments, and I was not aware that Sanda Brown was pregnant! For me, one of the highlights of the evening was Daria Pavlenko in the black swan pas de deux. She commands an audience like no one I have ever seen before, and her technique is very strong and confident. I thought she was a little tall for Ivan Putrov. It's not just her height, but she also dances "big". They were both beautiful in Giselle. I wish Lacarra and Pierre danced the Carmen pdd, as the program said. I would love to see them in it. They danced Light Rain a few years ago, so I had already seen it. It is an ideal showcase for Lacarra's extreme flexibility, but little else. La Prisoniere was nicely done though.

James Kudelka's "Cinderella" will return to Toronto this weekend for 4 performances. Casting is: Sonia Rodriguez/Guillaume Cote Greta Hodgkinson/Carlos Molina The press release says that Molina is replacing an injured Aleksandar Antonijevic. I hope Aleks recovers in time for the rest of the spring season, especially as he is creating a role in Kudelka's full-length "An Italian Straw Hat". Is anyone planning on seeing "Cinderella"- either again or for the first time? It has been heavily advertised. I expect that the theatre will be quite full. I'll be there on saturday evening's performance:)

Footnotes used to air on BRAVO!, and it is hosted by Frank Augustyn. Each program focuses on one ballet, or a certain topic (e.g. "the male dancer"). There are interviews, performance clips (mostly Kultur videos that already exist), and sometimes live segments performed by Kimberly Glasco. It's a good introduction to some of the great classics- the history and background of the ballet is discussed in fairly simple terms, so it is easy to follow. I think they'd be great for young ballet students. I wish they included more performance footage though.

Mine are: Onegin Opus 19/The Dreamer Apollo A Delicate Battle (Mrozewski)

I just read Paula Citron's review of the program for the Globe: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Art...t/?query=ballet I was quite surprised that she thought that Les Sylphides looked like "a parody of itself"! She writes: "it is almost as if Fokine was making fun of the soft, French classical style by cramming everything possible into the piece that denotes the genre." I always imagined Fokine to be paying tribute in a way to the Romantic period, yet using it's vocabulary to branch out into a new form- a plotless ballet of mood and atmosphere. I really don't think one can look at Les Sylphides as a mockery of any kind... What do you think?

I think Suzanne Farrell is very photogenic. In terms of technique, I am in awe of some of the photos of Susan Jaffe in the book "Classical Ballet Technique"!

I attended both the matinee and the evening performance yesterday (Mar.5). What a treat to have James Ehnes playing the Prokfiev This was my first time seeing Opus 19/the Dreamer, and I really enjoyed the choreography as well as the outstanding performances given by Guillaume Cote (mat) and Aleksandar Antonijevic (eve) in the central role. I heard the violin concerto at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra a few months ago (played by TSO concert master Jaques Israelevich). It was one of those pieces I didn't love right away. But after seeing the Dreamer, I find I appreciate the music much more. Robbins brings out the mood and character of the music brilliantly. I loved the fast 2nd movement, which begins with the couple running across the stage. The final pose of the 2nd movement (the man stands behind the woman, curled over her, she is en pointe, in retire but in a deep plie) and the final pose of the entire ballet (too hard to describe in words, but it is in lots of photos!) are striking. Sonia Rodriguez and Antonijevic were a perfect match in speed and temperament. Cote was wonderfully exhuberent, but his energy and clarity were not matched by his partner, Jennifer Fournier. Kudos to both men for exceptional stamina and technique! The man is on stage for practically the entire ballet! Les Sylphides looked like a dream, the best I can remember seeing it on this company. This has always been one of my favourite ballets, I can never tire of it. Magdalena Popa's staging is clean and uncluttered. The corps looked very well-rehearsed, they were uniform in every detail from the curve of their arms to the tilt of their heads. The soloists were also impressive. Chan Hon Goh is perfectly suited to the ballet, she danced the prelude and the pdd with Guillaume Cote. Cote was a marvel here- what an arabesque! Such soft landings! In the other cast, Nehemiah Kish danced the poet. He has beautiful lines and just needs to deepen his plie a little bit. Heather Ogden and Burnise Silvius were both lovely in the Mazurka. Glen Tetley's La Ronde is an interesting ballet, made up of 10 pdd between 5 unfaithful couples. The ballet depicts the hypocrisy of 19th century Viennese society. With each pdd, individuals climb the social ladder. Differences in social class are evident in the decor and costume of each rendez-vous. Yet in the end, the Count is seduced by the Prostitute who appeared in the opening of the ballet (at that time, with a Soldier) and everything has come full circle. The 5 couples come together finally, weaving in and out of each other, searching for some kind of fulfillment. The choreography is blatantly sexual and vulgar at times. Tetley skillfully expresses each character's psychology in their steps, and it is intersting to see how a given character behaves with his/her different partners. For example, the rapturous pdd of the young gentleman and the young wife (not his wife!) is offset by the restraint in the pdd danced by the young wife and her older husband. The "sweet young thing" is dominated by the husband, but nurtured by the poet. And it goes on like this... I felt that it sort of dragged on near the end. For me, the standout performances came from Tanya Howard as the Prostitute, Rebekah Rimsay as the Parlour Maid, and Stephanie Hutchison as the Actress (I believe this role was created on Karen Kain when it opened in 1987?).

My first ballet was Manon (National Ballet of Canada). I recently took a friend to see his first ballet, it was a mixed program with James Kudelka's Desir and Stanton Welch's Madame Butterfly. I thought it would be a good mix of narrative/abstract, and I think he enjoyed it. I also took my sister to her first ballet performance, it was another mixed program- an All Stravinsky Program (one of her favourite composers) consisting of Apollo, John Alleyne's Septet, and Kudelka's Fairy's Kiss. She has since come to the ballet several other times

I went to see this mixed program tonight, and also on wednesday evening. I don't really like how people distinguish between the "first cast" and "second cast" etc. (unless it is a new work that the choreographer set on specific dancers), just because a lot of people assume that the first cast is "the best" one and so on. Sometimes there is truth in it, but I find that more often the casts are simply too different to compare. One is not necessarily superior to the other. Comparing the 2 performances I saw, that was definitely the case. However, the opening night cast (corps included) had a much better "night", they were more "on" than the dancers I saw today. The NBoC performed Kudelka's DESIR first. I saw this ballet- originally created for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens- about 4 years ago. I was kind of indifferent to it then, and going into the theatre this time, I had little recollection of the work. This time was quite different though. I enjoyed it a lot more. For one thing, I was much more familiar with the music this time- Prokofiev's Waltz Suite Op.110 (from the ballet Cinderella and the opera War and Peace), or at least some of the waltzes, having performed myself in a piece to the same music. I really adore the energy and mood of the music. And it was of course, interesting to see how Kudelka interpreted Prokofiev's score over a decade ago for DESIR, after having seen him do it again for his CINDERELLA that premiered last spring. The ballet has no plot, it is centered around 3 main couples- depicting different manifestations of passion and love. The soloists are supported by a corps of 4 other pairs. The setting and costumes are simple, but effective. The women are dressed in long red, purple, and orange dresses with soft, flowing skirts. The men wear simple dark pants and loose neutral or pale coloured long sleeve shirts. They dance in front of a black backdrop under a full moon, and at certain points, stars (they appear and disappear). The women's colours shine vividly, while the men's are like shadows. As much as the ballet shows connections between lovers, it is also about the distance between them. The beginning and ending of the ballet seem to express this well. We see the same couple in both parts. When the curtain rises, the couple faces each other, standing straight. They are communicating, but they are an arms-length away from each other. They begin to dance, slowly, and then faster until they are moving wildly, in daring lifts and turns- typical Kudelka. There is just a hint of danger. In the final scene, the man lifts the woman, and she slowly slides back down to the ground, avoiding his gaze and turning away. It is a somewhat unresolved ending. It's been said that Kudelka choreographs difficult steps and combinations because he wants to see that struggle come across. Well, it's a fine line between daring and struggle. Wednesday's couple was Sonia Rodriguez and Patrick Lavoie. Their pdd was secure while pushing the limits. Today it was Stacey Shiori Minagawa and Kevin Bowles (a corps member). Minagawa showed polish and attack, but did not seem to be fully supported by her partner, so she was tentative at parts. The second pdd is sharp and hurried. It was danced well by Je-An Salas and Piotr Stanczyk (wed.) and Tanya Evidente and Keiichi Hirano (sat.), although Salas danced with a little more zest. This couple is the only one that stays in tact throughout the ballet. The others separate and rejoin. A highlight of DESIR is the 3rd pdd, in which the rift between admirer and admired is clearly shown. The pdd ends with the ballerina standing tall, and the man, prone of the floor, kissing her foot (well, pointe shoe). The woman is tall (with incredible extensions) and commanding. Greta Hodgkinson (wed.) was sublime in her smooth adagio and cool demeanor. Ryan Boorne partnered her well. Tanya Howard must have been an obvious choice for casting in this role. She has very long legs and knee-to-ear developes. She danced with the up-and-coming Nehemiah Kish. They received ethusiastic applause for their intricate contorsions. I remember seeing Xiao Nan Yu in this during its last run and she was simply perfect. The dancing for the corps is witty and a little playful, bringing out some of the lightness in the music. Today the dancers were a little out of sync is certain parts, which took away some of the effect. It is a interesting ballet, and shows off the dancers talents well. I'd be interested to know whether it is still currently performed by Les Grands? I think they could do it splendidly! The second ballet was Stanton Welch's MADAME BUTTERFLY. The dancing was top-notch all around and the music superb, but unfortunately the same cannot be said for the ballet itself. It is a beautiful production. I enjoyed the sets and props (such as huge butterfly wings on sticks that appear in the beginning and end)- they were used to good effect. There is a charming dance with fans for Butterfly and Suzuki behind paper screens (so only their silhouettes can be seen). Some of the costumes, especially Butterfly's are lovely. When she first enters, she is seen as a vision all in white, multiplying as smoke rises. It reminded me of the entrance of the Shades in La Bayadere. The choreography, however, is unmemorable and not terribly imaginative. Or worse, certain parts are memorable because they almost made me laugh in their melodrama. Bits of comic relief felt out of place in this tragic love story and the story gets muddled in the crowded stage. Other things are glaringly obvious, and IMO, over-done. How many times does Butterfly have to bow down to the American flag anyway? Then again, I have yet to see the opera, so it is difficult for me to comment on some things. The Act I pdd was mostly sincere and exciting, the final scene was also extremely moving- although this probably should be credited more to the dancers performances. Chan Hon Goh was especially dramatic in the role. Just before she ends her life, she is on the floor and reaches out towards to audience, in a cry for help. The anguish on Chan's face is painfully real. Both Chan (wed.) and Sonia Rodriguez (sat.) are well-suited to the role. They both demonstrated lightness in their dancing and dignity and modesty in their portrayals. Rodriguez's Butterfly was more understated. The Pinkertons were Guillaume Cote and Aleksandar Antonijevic respectively. Both are associated so closely with prince-type roles, so it was really different to see them in this role. I will never forget Geon van der Wyst's Pinkerton. He was in the audience tonight, actually! Cote brought a youthful charm to the role, while Antonijevic's Pinkerton was more tortured- particularly in the second act. His sadness and regret were extremely convincing. Kudos to Rebekah Rimsay (wed.) and Je-An Salas (sat.) in the role of Suzuki. Both did excellent jobs as Butterfly's humble servant. There is actually quite a bit of dancing in there for Suzuki. Ryan Boorne (wed.) and Etienne Lavigne (sat.) gave nuanced performances as Sharpless. Those of you who went, I would love to hear what you thought. Did anyone see the cast that I missed (Stacey Shiori Minagawa and Patrick Lavoie in MADAME BUTTERFLY)? Also, did anyone attend Martine Lamy's "ballet talk"? I missed it tonight, I was still eating dinner! She seems very articulate from the interviews I've read, so I'd be interested in hearing what she had to say. Next week will be Les Sylphides, La Ronde, and the company's premiere of Opus 19/ the Dreamer, which should be very exciting. It will also be great to hear James Ehnes play the Prokofiev.

I'm curious to hear what people thought of NBoC's Guillaume Cote? He is very popular in Toronto, and I have enjoyed all of his performances that I've seen so far. He will be dancing James in La Sylphide for NBoC's 2005-2006 season, staged by Nikolaj Hubbe.

Click here to read the press release: http://www.national.ballet.ca/Media/showPr...p?id=20050131-1 I am especially excited about the return of La Sylphide (in an odd pairing with The Cage- a company premiere). I think Chan Hon Goh will be lovely in it. It will be interesting to see how the younger dancers approach the challenging Bournonville style. Kudelka's Swan Lake, Cranko's Romeo and Juliet, and Jewels will be back again, plus an all Balanchine program consisting of Agon (another company premiere), the Four Temperaments (which we were supposed to see this season originally), and Theme and Variations. The season will also see the world premiere of a new Mrozewski ballet and the company premiere of Petrouchka. Overall it looks like it will be a strong season, and for 2006-2007 the NBoC and the COC move to the Four Seasons Opera House!

Just to second Leigh's post, I also think Lamy will perform most of the shows. "The Contract" is really her ballet, and a large part of why they chose to bring it back so soon was to celebrate her 23 (I *think*) years with the company. It was created on her in 2002 for the NBoC's 50th anniversary season. It will be hard to imagine the ballet without her, and I wonder how long it will stay in the active repertoire. From what I observed, "The Contract" received a lukewarm response here in Toronto (it's more that some people really loved it and other detested it, so that the mean is something in between). I can't say I was very impressed when I saw it in 2002, but to be fair, it did look tighter overall during the second run (fall 2004) and Lamy really makes the most of the role of Eva. The ballet is somewhere between 80-90 mins.- no intermession. Richard, if you decide to go, please make sure to post about it here! I'd be really interested to read others' opinions. The talk with Kudelka and Torke should be interesting also...

Cote and Silvius were featured in today's Toronto Star: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...d=1103669413577 The article describes the young couple's first Christmas together in their new home and Silvius' first Christmas in Canada (she is from South Africa).

Saveta, I agree Julie Hay would probably make an excellent Myrtha. She was very commanding as the lead fairy in the prologue of Nureyev's Sleeping Beauty last year- such long lines and crisp attack. I would be interested to read what you thought of "the Contract". I actually remember making a long post after the performance... but I can't seem to find it here! Does anyone remember reading my review of the Contract, or maybe the post never got sent? strange...

mom2, Thank you for the reply! Yes, it would be really nice for us Toronto posters to meet sometime:) The last Albrecht I saw was also Johan Persson. Perhaps we attended the same performance... It was his last performance before leaving for the Royal, making it an especially emotional and poignant one, and his partner was Chan Hon Goh. This season Chan danced with Guillaume Cote. I wish I could've seen that cast as well...

I attended the matinee today, the last performance of the run, which also happened to fall on the same day as the Santa Claus Parade! It would've been nice if all those people crowded outside the Hummingbird Centre were coming to see the ballet Nevertheless, the theatre seemed pretty full and with good reason. If seeing Giselle were not enough, we were treated to the Stravinsky (a new addition to NBoC's repertoire this year) as well! It was great to see other BA posters there too Having only watched the NYCB video of Stravinsky violin concerto, I was excited to see this ballet performed live. I really admire Balanchine for his ability to visualize music as complex as Stravinsky's. The dancers seemed to revel in his challenging choreography. In today's performance, Jennifer Fournier and Chan Hon Goh, both who have performed with Suzanne Farrell's company, danced the 2 arias. In the first pdd Fournier was partnered by Jean-Sebastien Colau. She is a strong and athletic dancer, which worked to her advantage here. She made the twisted positions look easy, however, I thought she could've used more facial expression. I liked Chan's calm, almost playful style. Her partner, Guillaume Cote, was also excellent. His technique was sharp and polished, giving his dancing an energetic quality. It will be nice to see this ballet in the future as the dancers grow into it (I felt this happened with Jewels- it looked even better the second time they presented it). After the stark modernism of Stravinsky Violin Concerto, the warm, pastoral atmosphere of Giselle was a little jarring, but it didn't take too long to set in. The NBoC performs Sir Peter Wright's production. It's uncluttered and honest. The corps had some wobbles and seemed tight in the first act, but they came back well enough in the second act. The frequently paired Greta Hodgkinson and Aleksandar Antonijevic appeared in the leads. Hodgkinson's Giselle was completely believable throughout, and more than technically sound. Her pointework is especially light and her landings are soft. She manages to communicate Giselle's innocence, vulnerability, and eventual disillusionment in Act I very well. Her girlishness never looked forced. Her reaction upon realizing Albrecht's betrayal felt true. The word "devastated" would be a gross understatement. Her eyes expressed disbelief and her body went completely limp. However she didn't really come off as "mad" to me... It seemed like she was still sane for the most part, and that this made the truth even harsher and unforgiving. In the second act, a mature and compassionate Giselle emerged. Antonijevic has been dancing Albrecht for years, yet it never looks tired on him; he is never just going through the motions. Time after time, he manages to make the audience feel that he still believes in the role. In the first act he was convincingly smitten and danced with a smooth ease. When his identity is revealed to Giselle, he is definitely upset, however it's hard to tell whether he feels any guilt or regret as well. He makes up for it in act II, where his anguish is clear. His dancing here is remarkable too. Such a pure line and clean batterie! Heather Ogden's Myrtha is completely unsympathetic to his pleas though. Ogden was certainly frigid and cruel, but I wish her Myrtha showed more authority. She didn't necessarily look like the Queens of the Wilis, but perhaps just the most angry one. Nevertheless, her technique was right on. It was an enjoyable, but very long, program. Next week will be the opposite, the Contract will be presented on its own. I believe it is roughly 90 or 100 minutes and there may not be an intermission this time (when it premiered in 2002 there was one intermission, but Kudelka felt the ballet would be stronger without a pause... there really isn't a "logical" place for a break in the ballet). I would love to hear what other posters thought of this program, and the other casts...

Hi Ed! The Canadian dance scene is pretty diverse, so I can only really speak for Toronto... I think for the NBoC, it is sometimes hard to keep their brightest dancers. Johan Persson and Jamie Tapper left for the Royal Ballet and the up-and-comer Tina Periera has joined Het National Ballet. NBoC has been able to keep dancers like Chan Hon Goh and Greta Hodgkinson by allowing them to guest with other companies frequently. There are definitely more opportunities in bigger companies (for new works, touring...), but several dancers have said that the reason they stayed in Canada was for Kudelka's ballets. NBoC, RWB, and Les Grands are definitely the main companies, and there are others, but for the most part they are relatively young. I have heard some good things about the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada http://www.atlanticballet.ca/. Out west there is the Alberta Ballet and Ballet BC (Ballet BC's director, John Alleyne has created several ballets for the NBoC as well). Try their website: http://www.balletbc.com/home.html. These 2 companies collaborate with their Nutcracker, bringing it to different cities in the Western provinces. It is really difficult to pin point a "Canadian style". There are definitely links with the British style, but with choreographers like John Alleyne and James Kudelka, it has really become quite different. The Quebec scene is more experimental and has produced talents such as Jean-Pierre Perrault (La Fondation Jean-Pierre Perrault) and Edouard Lock (of Lalala Human Steps: http://www.lalalahumansteps.com/). It is a shame that Ontario rarely gets to see ballets from Quebec. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens came to Toronto this week after a 5 year absence and the ticket sales were extremely low. It's not likely they will be returning soon, as their reception in other cities (US, Europe) has been much better. Hope this helps:)

Glad to be of help:) Enjoy the videos!

You might still have some luck... Last week there were still some copies of Nureyev and Fonteyn in Romeo and Juliet and POB's Romeo and Juliet with Manuel Legris and Monique Loudieres at the Edwards St. location

Did anybody go see the NBoC in California? Impressions?

So did anyone go see the choreographic workshop at the Betty Oliphant Theatre last weekend? As always it was rather hit and miss, but I still enjoy going. Because it is a much smaller venue, the choreographers (mostly dancers from the company) are allowed much more freedom... The program began with a solo for Guillaume Cote by Kudelka set to Purcell's Chacony and concluded with a comical piece by Matjash Mrozewski- "Canard Sauvage". Mrozewski's piece was a farce of classical ballet, with snippets of Swan Lake and the Nutcracker. I thought the strongest piece was Stephanie Hutchison's "Selah" danced by Martine Lamy (absolutely radiant) and Jean-Sebastien Colau. The choreography felt natural and fluid. Selah seemed especially poignant in light of the fact that Lamy will be retiring in 2005. The piece has a sense of introspective remembrance mixed with an embrace of the future. According to the program: "Selah is a Hebrew word... a thought-link which bids one to look back and mark the connection with what is to follow". The program was especially heavy on Philip Glass. Cote's "Over the hill hides the sun", Je-An Salas' "Vanderwaals Forces", and Rebekah Rimsay's "Luna" all used his music. Salas' work seemed to capture the dynamic force of the music most effectively. Sorry I can't mention all the pieces, I'm off to ballet class. If anyone else went, please chime in!