cinnamonswirl

ENB currently has a royal patron - Prince Andrew. I don't think the Royal Ballet School currently has a patron. The Duchess of Cambridge could take on that.

Yes. At 10:04 Giselle does tours a l'italienne. Arabesques voyagees travel in a line.

I think the whole production could use a good editor. The choreography is repetitive, and there is too much emphasis on the stepsisters. Which cast did you see? I saw Ellis/Jordan on Friday evening. Emily Ellis has excellent technique but she seems like quite a limited actress. (I did like her in the Corsaire pd3 a few weeks ago though.) Jonathan Jordan isn't a great actor either, but he can dance with a lot of flair. Unfortunately last night he was a complete blank. Not wooden, blank. No smile, nothing. There's not much character development in this production, which doesn't help. I've been told that the school keeps the company afloat financially, so it's not surprising that Webre choreographs a lot for the children. I don't mind it -- I'll take more of those adorable wiggling bumblebees any day!

I'm interested to see how The Winter's Tale turns out!

Yes, it was Dupont/Heymann. I agree, it was not very good. Lopatkina as Tatiana (donkey pd2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNakwPvGyGo

When you watch City Ballet or Miami do Rubies, the dancers really move their hips. They're thrusts more than plies, and their hips change angles. When other companies do Rubies (Mariinsky, POB), they do a more correct ballet pile and don't move their hips enough IMO. I don't know if it's lack of coaching or what but to me it is emblematic of the fact that most non-American companies don't "get" Rubies they way American companies seem to. (Besides NYCB and MCB, I saw a very credible Rubies from Washington Ballet a couple years ago.) I see what you mean about Esina. I think it's something about the way she uses her elbows and wrists, there's a kind of flippy quality. (Her arms in turns also bother me but that is a technique choice.) She's a great interpreter of Odile though.

And how would they do this? Dancers typically put their 'slippers' (pointe shoes?) on in their dressing room. And most dancers make sure everything is just so with their shoes. This has a distinct Black Swan sound. Maybe the perpetrator was inspired by Black Swan? Dancers in the corps usually share a 1 or 2 big group dressing rooms. Most people prep a bunch of shoes at once and then use them as needed. She probably didn't look inside the box right before she put them on. I'm sure she looks inside now.

I'm not sure about warmth, but Lopatkina can certainly be funny.

Could be an interesting announcement, if the Figaro article is anything to go by. Hopefully common sense prevails. I'm not sure creating 3 ballets for a company necessarily makes one very familiar with it. http://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/2013/01/23/03004-20130123ARTFIG00413-l-opera-de-paris-cherche-son-nouveau-directeur-du-ballet.php

Puppytreats, it sounds like you want to attend the mixed bill then. Typically there are lots of seats for the second night of the mixed bill if it on a weeknight (as this is).

puppytreats, it really depends on the program (and what you consider great seats). What are you trying to see? I imagine Cosaire will sell better than the mixed rep, especially since it's got the weekend matinees. Also if there are Russian dancers cast, the DC area Russian contingent comes out full force - I bet tickets for the Sunday matinee with Osipova/Vasiliev will go quickly.

Gilbert/Paquette Don Quixote (from the live broadcast): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhlK6BZ9tDg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlPiglT-jTY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aBO2Z27GOM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOSshN1GKb8

I think Guillem would make interesting programing and casting choices. She has also spoken repeatedly of the importance of rehearsal/performance scheduling in preventing injuries. Changing that could make a big difference at POB. But she doesn't have any kind of administration experience that I know of. And I agree it would seem against her nature to go into administration, especially going back to a big hierarchical company like POB. My impression has always been that one of the reasons Legris took the Vienna job was to prove himself as a director for POB. I think both Legris and Hilaire are very well respected amongst the dancers.

Ok, that's true but he hasn't really been filmed as a lead. I suppose it just goes to show how reliant on him the company is.

Yes, that is a good point, but one hopes the other etoiles (especially ones like Pech or Belingard who have danced Basilio before) would feel the same sense of responsibility. That sounds like a dig but I don't mean it as one. I don't know what has happened internally, what their schedules are like etc. But I still don't get why the direction would ask him to dance that many times. Ganio is only dancing 4 times. Chaillet has 3 performances at the end of the run. I know Chaillet is a premier danseur and this is his debut etc etc, but still. And Gilbert/Ganio Don Q would be fabulous for the live broadcast. Although Paquette hasn't be filmed much, so that's probably why he gets that. I'm not sure of the exact mechanics, but the etoiles can definitely say "No, I don't want to dance X." They're also guaranteed a minimum number of performances per season. Although based on how infrequently some have danced in the past, it must either be a tiny number or they must be able to waive the minimum. My impression is that the company doesn't like having understudies. If a dancer gets injured during the run, often his/her roles are simply redistributed among the existing casts. Or, they have a dancer (often a sujet) who learns the role and gets 1 scheduled performance and is available to sub as necessary.

Congratulations!

Injuries have certainly come into play. There is a distinct shortage of Basilios this year. Lots of Kitris. Josua Hoffalt, Mathias Heyman and Stephane Bullion, all etoiles who would presumably have danced Basilio, are injured. Mathieu Ganio, not initially expected to dance, had to be drafted in as a last minute sub. But that still has left poor Karl Paquette (one of the weaker Basilios, IMO) scheduled for 13 performances with 3 Kitris - Ludmila Pagliero, Dorothee Gilbert and Svetlana Zakharova (who was announced as a guest ages ago). Plus, Pierre-Arthur Raveau, a sujet dancing Basilio, only managed 1 performance before pulling out due to injury. Hierarchy also plays a role. Instead of importing principals, they could have given more performances to, say, Mathilde Froustey, who made a ravishing debut (as expected). But she's sujet, and so not entitled to as many performances as premiere danseuse, who entitled to as many as an etoile (assuming their are any who want the role). That said, POB is notorious for having injuries up the wazoo this time of year. They insist on performing contemporary and classical works at the same time, ignoring the strain on dancers' bodies from switching between the two styles. The administration knows that. So, the wisdom of doing 25 performances of Don Q, a strain on even a large company like POB, PLUS the Forsythe is questionable at best, IMO. Going back to Lefevre's sucessor, I do think Legris has a bit of a leg up on Hilaire given his administrative position in Vienna. He's done a very nice job with the company.

Oh thank you! I've never seen the third, and the first two seem to get funnier every time I watch them!

I understand what you mean, Bart, having hyper-extended knees myself. You've been right with everything you've said about them so far and the challenges they pose to dancers. Many dancers are hyper extended, giving them a curvier standing line in arabesque. It's in "fashion" now but definitely was not in the past. Hyperextension presents its own challenges, but learning to control your hyperextension and use it appropriately is part of ballet training. If a dancer cannot control her (his) hyperextension the majority of the time, then are not dancing at a professional level, IMO. For one thing, it's dangerous. Pushing back into hyperextension is bad for the joint, as you stated, and leads to the overuse of other muscles, which can present a whole other set of problems. That said, ballet training has evolved. When I was a child, we hyperextended folk were taught to push back into our hyperextension, have a gap between our heels in first etc. because it creates a better line (clearly that is debatable), and no one realized it was bad for the joints. Or at least, that knowledge was not wide-spread, even at major ballet schools. When I was in high school, people realized that pushing back wasn't a great idea and we had to relearn how to stand. Most dancers I know/know of have knee problems and lots and lots of older dancers have had knee replacements. I think part of that is just ballet technique (the plié contradiction - you can never plié too much but too many pliés overworks the joint) but I bet a lot of it is due to hyperextension. Look at Darcey Bussell. She retired because of hip problems, but if you look at the S-line her legs made, her knees and hips are not lined up and anatomically-speaking that is not healthy.

Ah, but the boomers have money to give. Most young professionals/families with small children are not in a position to make major donations to the arts. Major benefactors tend to be of the baby boomer generation.

Oh dear, I'm not looking forward to Holly Hynes's costumes tonight. She may have run NYCB's costume shop well, but her own designs always fall flat. Pity TSFB can't rent the originals.

I just heard that Osmolkina injured herself on stage during the first act of Friday's performance. She "crumpled to the floor" (in my friend's words), the curtain came down and the performance resumed with Shirinkina. Hopefully the injury is not serious!

Ask and you shall receive!

It's right at the beginning of the variation. Lopatkina does it at 8:05. Attitude turn into allonge, pas de bouree en tournant into fondu (I guess where Tereshkina does the beats?), serre, developee. I love this video of Tereshkina rehearsing the end of the variation. Renverses to die for!

But all companies and all dancers cannot be all things to all people. Just because 1 company doesn't do Swan Lake doesn't mean the ballet is going to be lost or degraded or given up for good. I think one can make a fair argument that (most) companies that do try to be all things are not particularly successful stylistically. That said, I think trying for SL or another classic is laudable goal, especially given the wealth of coaching that would be available. Assuming the financial backing is there, it's still going to be long-term investment/project that will take years to do properly, but that doesn't mean it should be attempted. To a certain extent I agree. But I think the reverse is also true - many principal dancers who do a lot of classics struggle to perform Balanchine at a NYCB or MCB principal level, IMO. In both cases it takes a lot of coaching to take a dancer past technique and into style. When Alexandra Ansanelli went to RB she did start as a first soloist, not a principal. But I honestly cannot see Tiler Peck or Sara Mearns as anything other than a principal at any company. In Farrell's case, I think it was more no other AD dared hire her, rather than a question of technique (although I do wonder how she would have fared at ABT, for example). In Kirkland's case, it seems like it was more mental and she just wanted OUT.