cinnamonswirl

The name of the new director is easily found by searching on Twitter, in case anyone else wants to know before the embargo ends. I do recall at least one interview in which this dancer expressed an interest in directing (I think the interview actually described her as a possible candidate for directing the Royal Ballet). It's certainly a bold move by the END board. I wonder what the dancers' reactions will be. Things are going to interesting!

Nanarina, are you sure Bélingard is dancing Romeo? My understanding is the lead cast will be Dupont/Hervé Moreau, and the run will serve as Moreau's farewell. The second cast is Mélanie Hurel/Vincent Chaillet. It is being filmed, I think for live HD transmission, although that doesn't always translate into a DVD with POB.

silvermash, Orphée et Eurydice is so bleak! Perhaps I'll give it another try with a different cast (I do like Renavand) the next time it's performed in Paris, since I'm not going to NYC. Dansomanie is listing the singers as Balthasar-Neumann Ensemble & Chor. I want to see Bourdon/Florieux in the peasant pd2, so perhaps I will give Pujol/Le Riche another chance. I agree Dupont would make a good Myrtha, same as she is probably better suited to Gamzatti than Nikiya. But I guess she likes the lead roles. Also, anyone have any guesses as to why POB (or the Kennedy Center) have scheduled a 1:30pm matinée on a Friday? I know that Wednesday is the 4th of July, but do they really expect people to be taking Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday off, and therefore to be free to go to the ballet during Friday afternoon?

Thanks for the correction. I guess stick to Gillot or Le Riche then. And hope the orchestra is better!

Giselle: - Dupont/Ganio - personally I like this pairing (they are on the Sylphide DVD together if you want a preview). They are not the company's best actors, but they are both very effective actors, IMO, and of course they have glorious technique. - Gilbert/Hoffalt - the young etoiles, very well suited. This should be a good cast, assuming Gilbert is well enough to tour (she is injured at the moment) - Letestu/Bullion - I have not seen Letestu in Giselle, but I know she fought hard for this role (against her emploi) and she was well received. She and Bullion are well suited, and he is quite the heartbreaker on stage. - Osta/Pech - This would be my top choice, as Osta is retiring this year and this is a good role for her. - Ciaravola/Paquette - Ciaravola is a great actress, but I'm not sure about pairing her with Paquette ... he's a very reliable partner, but not a match for her acting-wise. Odd pairing. - Pujol/Le Riche - this would be my couple to avoid. Le Riche is a good Albrecht, but Pujol is not strong enough for the second act, IMO, and she isn't a good enough actress to make you forget the wobbles. (You can watch the DVD to see if you agree with me) - Myrtha - Gillot is a very imperious Myrtha. Cozette is one of the least popular étoiles, but she makes a good Myrtha, as does Pagliero. - Peasant pd2s - Heloise Bourdon & Florimond Lorieux are the hot young sujets to watch right now. Bourdon just made a very strong debut as Nikiya in La Bayadere last week), and of course Ludmila Pagliero was just promoted to etoile (which makes me wonder if she will still be dancing the Peasant Pd2 this summer). Amandine Albisson is also very talented. Boléro - Gillot and Le Riche are both well-regarded in this. Dupont is making her debut. It's not a role I would have expected her in, but she's a very committed dance. L'Arlésienne - Both casts are good, although I personally prefer Ciaravola/Bullion. Suite en blanc - See Letestu in La Cigarette! She owns that variation. No one else, even Gillot and Dupont, can quite match her. I will let someone else (maybe silvermash?) comment on Orphée et Eurydice. Any casting comments I will have are overpowered by my dislike of the ballet! I hope this helps. Just looking over the casting quickly, it doesn't look like there are any nights that are complete duds, casting-wise. The company doesn't really have any Somovas, and even the weaker dancers are in roles that suit them.

Thanks, rg!!! Some interesting pairings for Giselle. I wonder if Pagliero will still do the Peasant Pd2 now that she's étoile. Dupont in Boléro will certainly be interesting.

Oh wow, that was an excellent April Fools because it is so entirely plausible!

If you look on some of the other French forums though, people aren't nearly as congratulatory, and some of the POB watchers I know IRL are very unhappy with the nomination. It's definitely a controversial nomination. Personally, I like her dancing very much, but to me she is more a very good premiere danseuse than étoile. She simply doesn't have the aura that makes some dancers true principals. That said, I'm happy for her. In the right roles she is very good. She was fantastic as Paquita, and she's also excellent in the current Ek/Robbins bill. I do think it's a pity the administration chose to promote her as Gamzatti though, since I find her disappointing in the pas d'action (technically she is just not on the level of Dorothée Gilbert or even Emilie Cozette. If you compare videos of them on YT you'll see what I mean), although she is very convincing in the mimed confrontation with Nikiya. It would have been more fitting, IMO, to promote her after a performance of the Ek/Robbins evening, where she really very good. Although obviously that wouldn't have been as dramatic as a nomination during a live HD broadcast. As for Froustey ... it must be heartbreaking to get your big break AND get the chance to do the HD transmission and then be injured.

He's also conducting POB's current run of La Bayadere.

Ludmila Pagliero was promoted to étoile tonight during the live HD broadcast of La Bayadere! Congratulations to Ms. Pagliero! Edit: Official announcement is online now: http://www.operadeparis.fr/actualites/Ludmila-Pagliero-nomme-Danseur-Etoile

FYI there's going to be a party celebrating the DVDs on March 25 (4pm) at the Palais Garnier gift shop with Dorothée and Alessio, so I assume that means the DVDs will be for sale there.

I hadn't thought of that. As to casting, there are a lot of retirements coming up, especially amongst the ladies -- Osta this season, and Ciaravola, Letestu and even Dupont in the next couple of years. It would behoove the company to start casting younger dancers now, rather than later, when they actually have to carry the company -- such as what is happening now with Héloïse Bourdon, who is debuting in La Bayadère next week. Presumably we'll see a lot of Don Q debuts. 26 performances is a very long run!

Trieste, the reaction on French forums to next season's program has been very negative. The consensus seems to be there is too much contemporary, which is not generally considered a company strength. There are only 2 classic full lengths -- and as if to compensate there are 26(!) scheduled performances of Don Q. There's also disappointment at the lack of a major foreign company visiting. The season is not to my personal taste, but it's just as well because the Royal's is! It will be nice to see La Sylphide again, and I agree the 2 Fauns back-to-back should be good, although the Robbins needs to be cast very carefully, IMO. The casting next season should be interesting with so many mixed bills. Etoiles usually only dance 1 ballet per evening, so hopefully we'll see some more junior company members getting a chance.

October will be Soirée Balanchine - Serenade, Agon, Prodigal Son. The full schedule is up on the POB website now with exact dates: http://www.operadeparis.fr/saison_2012_2013/Ballets/index.php

It's up on the AROP website now: http://arop-opera.com/fr/Saison/SpectaclesListe.asp?From=Particuliers&Saison=Par1213&Theme=2

Josua Hoffalt was promoted to étoile this evening, during the opening night of La Bayadère opposite Aurélie Dupont and Dorothée Gilbert. Congratulations to Mr. Hoffalt! Edit: Here is the announcement on the POB website.

Hmmm. That's an awful lot of TBAs for a season announcement. It's great the Mariinsky is back, but it's disappointing they are the only international company other than our Canadian friends. Thanks for posting, emilienne.

Invitees for the Mariinsky Festival have been announced and - am I reading this right? - Shklyarov's debut in Le Jeune homme et la mort? http://www.timeout.ru/journal/feature/26281/

Christopher Wheeldon has his own Vimeo channel now, and has uploaded all of the NYCB premiere of DGV as well as Les Carillions and excerpts from some of his other ballets.

I like Kampa's dancing, from what's on YT. But looking at still photos, her hips are so tilted in a la seconde, they're pratically vertical! Example from her Facebook: It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next few years.

Right, many (most?) countries are like that. A student visa is not the same as a work visa. What I meant and didn't express very well, was what changed within the Mariinsky administration so that they decided to hire her/sponsor her visa now, rather than two years ago. I assume she has a champion within the company who kept pushing until Fateev agreed to hire her? I wonder if she'll any open resentment from other dancers. The Mariinsky, Bolshoi, POB -- they seem like difficult companies to be a foreigner in.

This article implies one of the reasons Kampa went to Boston is she couldn't get a visa to stay in Russia. I wonder what changed?

When you're dancing you shouldn't have to think about the costume. If you do (or are), then there's a problem with the costume. Also, rehearsal tutus tend to be very soft because they are worn a lot, and the dancer is unlikely to starch it (or whatever wardrobe does to make the tutu stiff). Rehearsal tutus start out stiff and then they get limp as they are used a lot and washed. So a lift that looks ok tutu-wise in rehearsal may not look the same on stage because the tutu is different. It also depends on the tutu -- the stiffer and wider it is (a real pancake or duckbill tutu) is more likely it is to expose the dancer than a soft, Karinska-style tutu, IMO. Personally I would not advocate sitting (or lying) on the back of the tutu so that the front pops up!

Jenifer Ringer is on maternity leave! http://www.dance-teacher.com/content/2011-dance-magazine-awards-paying-tribute-their-teachers

The order of the Shades in the program is not the actual order of their variations. (Well, they are listed in the order the variations are usually danced, with the developpe variation last, but not in the order ABT is dancing them, with the developpé variation second.) Thursday: Sarah Lane, Yuriko Kajiya, Maria Riccetto Friday: Christine Shevchenko, Misty Copeland, Devon Teuscher Looking forward in the program, the Thursday cast is also scheduled for the weekend matinées, and for Saturday evening: Shevchenko, Copeland, Leann Underwood.