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Dale

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Posts posted by Dale

  1. This film/dance was released yesterday by NYCB:

    Please find the link to a short film, co-produced by New York City Ballet and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, below that we hope you will consider sharing it with your readers.

     

    https://youtu.be/5O6Jz7MMTII

     

    “Ces noms que nous portons” is a world premiere solo choreographed by Kyle Abraham for NYCB Principal Dancer Taylor Stanley. The film was shot on June 30 on the Josie Robertson Plaza, lit in celebration of Pride. Kyle and Taylor have written the following statement about their collaboration on Ces noms que nous portons, and encourage viewers to learn more about and consider supporting Black Lives Matter, the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, and The Okra Project.

    **

    A message from Kyle Abraham and Taylor Stanley

    When we first worked together on “The Runaway” for NYCB in 2018, an instant bond was created. There was a synergy of shared experiences and shared narratives. And although our pathways and audiences may differ, we share a united sense of a weighted experience that holds our history and our art form alike.

    This collaboration aims to celebrate our queerness and our color in a way that hopefully stresses its importance, its fragility, and its strength. We dance, and create dances for those who have yet to see themselves on a stage. We dance, and create dances for our community and beyond. We dance, and create dances to nourish our souls. We make dances to reflect, to ask, to heal.

    We want to honor the lives of those who we have lost due to the color of their skin or their identity. May they remain close to our hearts and at the forefront of our actions as we continue to create, reflect, and dance. For the both of us, we commemorate our history….in PRIDE.

    Love,

    Kyle Abraham and Taylor Stanley

    **

  2. Here's the press release for the City Center dancing offerings:

    New York City Center Live @ Home
    virtual programming announced

     

    Ayodele Casel’s Diary of a Tap Dancer V.6: Us
    a seven-part performance series conceived and curated by
    Ayodele Casel and Torya Beard

     

    Studio 5 | Great American Ballerinas
    a five-part series featuring Misty Copeland, Sara Mearns, and Tiler Peck

     

    July 8, 2020 (New York, NY) – New York City Center President & CEO Arlene Shuler today announced New York City Center Live @ Home virtual programming including a newly commissioned weekly performance series conceived and curated by tap dancer Ayodele Casel, alongside frequent collaborator Torya Beard, called Ayodele Casel’s Diary of a Tap Dancer V.6: Us, and the popular Studio 5 series curated and hosted by Alastair Macaulay and featuring Misty Copeland, Sara Mearns, and Tiler Peck in a special five-part event titled Great American Ballerinas. The much-loved social media series Encores! Archives Project, which revisits selections from City Center’s illustrious musical theater vault, also continues through September. 

    “During these uncertain and turbulent times, it is even more important that City Center provides a platform for artists to develop and share their work,” said Shuler. “I’m excited that City Center Live @ Home programming showcases some of the extraordinary dance artists who are part of our extended family. This has been a challenging time for so many and I am personally grateful for the support City Center has received from our loyal audiences. I hope you will all tune in as we launch these new online initiatives.”

    In keeping with City Center’s founding mission to provide access to the best in the arts for all, City Center Live @ Home programs will premiere for free on City Center’s YouTube page and website at NYCityCenter.org.

    Ayodele Casel’s Diary of a Tap Dancer V.6: Us

    For this new virtual series, Ayodele Casel, one of the “Biggest Breakout Stars of 2019” (The New York Times), has curated a group of artists who will present seven different video performances—solos and duos created and performed by a multigenerational and multicultural group—to be released weekly at 12pm beginning Tuesday, July 14 (through Tuesday, August 25). Co-directed by Casel and Torya Beard, the series is a continuation of her Diary of a Tap Dancer project and will feature performances from Casel and other tap artists including Amanda Castro, Starinah Dixon, Andre Imanishi, Ryan Johnson, Lisa La Touche, Ted Levy, Michela Marino Lerman, Anthony Morigerato, Makenna Watts, and more. Kurt Csolak serves as editor of the series, with Darren Biggart and Anthony Morigerato acting as creative producers.

    “We all have something to say. We have something to give, something to communicate about who we are and where we've been,” said Casel. “Diary of a Tap Dancer is predicated on the belief that by revealing our stories, we expose our shared humanity and provide a deeper understanding of how our life experience moves the dance.”

    Casel began her relationship with City Center in 2016 performing her solo piece, While I Have the Floor, as part of the Encores! Off-Center Jamboree and was invited that October to reprise the work as part of the Fall for Dance Festival. She choreographed and performed in the 2017 Encores! Off-Center production of Carole King and Maurice Sendak’s Really Rosie, with Torya Beard serving as assistant choreographer. Both Casel and Beard served on the Encores! Off-Center Artist Board for three years. Casel also appeared with Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra in a one-night-only event as part of the ¡Adelante, Cuba! Festival in 2018. In April 2019, Casel, along with O’Farrill, and Beard as creative director, helped launch City Center On the Move, a community engagement initiative first presented as part of City Center’s 75th Anniversary Season. In partnership with NYC Parks Arts, Culture & Fun, On the Move brings world-class artists directly to New Yorkers in their own neighborhoods.

    Studio 5 | Great American Ballerinas

    City Center’s Studio 5 goes virtual with a five-part series—Great American Ballerinas—featuring performance excerpts from three of today’s leading ballerinas: Misty Copeland, Sara Mearns, and Tiler Peck, curated and hosted by dance critic and historian Alastair Macaulay. In this special series, each dancer works in a live coaching session with another acclaimed dance artist, including Nina Ananiashvili, Merrill Ashley, Alessandra Ferri, Stephanie Saland, and Pam Tanowitz.

    In July, New York City Ballet (NYCB) principal dancer Tiler Peck, famous for her prodigious technique and musical skill, works with former NYCB star and ballet master Merrill Ashley, who created numerous roles for Balanchine and is credited with establishing unprecedented levels of technique in the 1970s and ‘80s. Together they will explore a selection of Balanchine solos with Ashley coaching Peck. This program begins live streaming on Thursday, July 16 at 3pm and will be available to view through Wednesday, July 22.

    NYCB principal dancer Sara Mearns has become known as one of America’s foremost interpreters of the dual role of Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. She will explore this classic role alongside “one of the twelve greatest ballerinas of all time” (Daily Telegraph), Georgian ballerina Nina Ananiashvili. This program begins live-streaming Thursday, July 30 at 12pm and will be available through Wednesday, August 5.

    In September, Peck works with former NYCB ballerina Stephanie Saland (Sep 16) on the “green” solo from Jerome Robbins’s Dances at a Gathering—the only female solo in the hour-long quintessential piano ballet. Saland was coached in the role by Robbins himself, who also choreographed a number of roles for her in the 1970s and ‘80s.

    Mearns also returns with choreographer Pam Tanowitz (Sep 23) to explore new solo material created for her. Both artists have extended their artistic range in recent years—Tanowitz revealing her distinct choreographic voice through a witty and inventive post-modern treatment of classical dance vocabulary and Mearns expanding her repertory to include works by modern dance pioneers Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and Merce Cunningham, among others.

    In the final program of the Great American Ballerinas series (Sep 30), Misty Copeland, the first African American principal ballerina with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre, revisits Juliet’s solo scenes in Act Three of Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet with international ballet star Alessandra Ferri.

    All virtual Studio 5 events will be streamed for one week on City Center’s YouTube page and website at NYCityCenter.org/Studio5. Following the week-long streaming period, members will receive exclusive access to an archive of the full series. For information on becoming a member (starting at $100) visit NYCityCenter.org/Support or email Membership@NYCityCenter.org.

    Ayodele Casel’s Diary of a Tap Dancer V.6: Us
    NYCityCenter.org/Tap

    New performances every Tue, Jul 14 – Aug 25, 12pm
    Ayodele Casel and special guests

    Amanda Castro is a multidisciplinary artist. She is a graduate of California Institute of the Arts, where she studied under Glen Eddy of Nederlands Dans Theatre and Andre Tyson from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Recent credits include Singin’ in the Rain (Olney Theatre Center) and 42nd Street (Ordway Center). @acastrodance

    Starinah Dixon is an assistant director, choreographer, and original principal dancer of world-renowned tap company M.A.D.D. Rhythms. She has performed as a guest with companies such as Michelle Dorrance's Dorrance Dance and as a part of Savion Glover’s All Funk’d Up. Dixon has taught and performed at the most distinguished tap festivals in the country including the LA Tap Fest, DC Tap Fest, RIFF Dallas, and more.

    Andre Imanishi is a 2020 National YoungArts winner and was most recently seen at The Joyce Theater as part of the Ayodele Casel + Arturo O’Farrill production. His tenacious approach to training, passion for hoofing, and unique point of view, has garnered invitations to perform with Cartier Williams, the Bernstein Tribute at the Kennedy Center, Ziggity Bop, The Giz, Ayodele Casel, New York City Center’s On the Move, and more.

    Ryan Johnson is the co-founder and artistic director for SOLE Defined percussive dance company, and an artist-in-residence at Dance Place in Washington, DC. His work weaves together the techniques, history, and aesthetics of tap dance, body percussion, stepping, and theater to forge works that reclaim Black narratives. @rkj.dance

    Lisa La Touche is co-founder of Training Dayz alongside Danny Nielsen in Calgary, and founder of Tap Phonics. La Touche has performed, choreographed, and taught worldwide on various independent projects. Recent credits include Shuffle Along, choreographed by Savion Glover and directed by George C. Wolfe. lisalatouche.com

    Ted Levy made his Broadway debut in the smash hit Black & Blue, and collaborated with George C. Wolfe and Gregory Hines on the choreography of Jelly's Last Jam (Tony nomination, Drama Desk Award nomination, Outer Critics Circle Award). Other credits include: Spike Lee’s Malcom X, PBS’ Precious Memories (Emmy Award), Ted Levy and Friends, Dancing Under the Stars, Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk!, and more. @tedlouislevy

    Michela Marino Lerman is a globally sought-after tap dance artist, performer, choreographer, educator, and all-around creative spirit. Lerman has performed, choreographed, produced, and directed many projects throughout her career and has performed with masters including Jon Batiste and Stay Human, Savion Glover, Benny Golson, Roy Hargrove, Barry Harris, Wynton Marsalis, Cecile McLorin Salvant,  Marcus Roberts, and many more. michelataps.com

    Anthony Morigerato is a tap dancer, producer, director, content creator, writer, and Emmy-nominated choreographer. Morigerato is the executive producer and artistic director for AM Dance Productions. He is currently the co-artistic director for American Tap Festival and Operation: Tap, and continues to teach and choreograph for dance organizations, festivals, competitions, theater schools, and dance studios all over the world. amtapdance.com

    Makenna Watts is a Florida-based tap artist. She is a member of Sole Talk Youth Company and has represented Florida in the Southern Open Rhythm Collective’s Youth Program.

    Studio 5 | Great American Ballerinas
    NYCityCenter.org/Studio5

    Thu Jul 16, 3pm (on view through Jul 22)
    Tiler Peck with Merrill Ashley, Balanchine solos

    Thu Jul 30, 12pm (on view through Aug 5)
    Sara Mearns with Nina Ananiashvili, Swan Lake

    Wed Sep 16, 5pm (on view through Sep 22)
    Tiler Peck with Stephanie Saland, Dances at a Gathering

    Wed Sep 23, 5pm (on view through Sep 29)
    Sara Mearns with Pam Tanowitz, New Work

    Wed Sep 30, 5pm (on view through Oct 6)
    Misty Copeland with Alessandra Ferri, Romeo and Juliet

    Misty Copeland is a principal dancer at ABT. She was promoted in 2015, historically making her the first Black woman to be named a principal dancer in the company’s then 75-year history. Copeland joined ABT’s Studio Company in 2000 and the main company’s corps de ballet in 2001. She was promoted to soloist in 2007. She performed the world premiere of Kyle Abraham’s Ash, a City Center commission, at the 2019 Fall for Dance Festival. Copeland is a devoted mentor, activist, and philanthropist, as well as the bestselling author of Ballerina Body, Life in Motion, and the award-winning children’s book Firebird. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hartford, has been named as one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” and Glamour magazine’s “Women of the Year,” and was honored with a Black Girls Rock! Award.

    Sara Mearns of Columbia, South Carolina, has been a principal dancer with NYCB since 2008. She has been a guest artist with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Jodi Melnick Dance, and Wang Ramirez. She has also starred in the US premiere of Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes at City Center and performed the Dances of Isadora Duncan at both Lincoln Center and City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival. Mearns was also featured in the Fall for Dance Festival in 2013, 2017, 2018, and 2019. She has worked with world-renowned choreographers including Alexei Ratmansky and Justin Peck. In 2019, she made her City Center Encores! debut in I Married an Angel. Mearns is the winner of the 2018 Bessie Award for Outstanding Performer and a nominee for both the Benois de la Danse and Princess Grace Awards. She has partnerships with Cole Haan, Tiger Balm, and SoDanca.

    Tiler Peck is a principal dancer with NYCB. She has several Broadway, television, and film credits including choreography for John Wicks 3: Parabellum (2019) and a guest appearance on Dancing with the Stars. She danced at the Kennedy Center Honors twice for the Obamas. She was a “30 Under 30” in Forbes magazine and has been the recipient of several awards including a Dance Magazine Award, a Princess Grace Foundation Fellowship, and a Mae L. Wien Award. Peck has also appeared in previous City Center events including Studio 5, the 2015 and 2018 Fall for Dance Festival, and the 2016 Vail Dance Festival: ReMix NYC.

    Nina Ananiashvili was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. At the age of 10, she began studying ballet at the Georgian State Choreographic School and entered the Moscow Choreographic School when she was 13. Ananiashvili joined the Bolshoi Ballet upon graduating in 1981. While she was a prima ballerina there, she became a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and danced with The Royal Ballet, Houston Ballet, La Scala Theatre Ballet, and the Metropolitan Opera, among others. She has performed more than 100 ballet pieces and won first prizes at several international ballet competitions. In 2004, Ananiashvili took on the responsibilities of artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia. She was awarded the Rustaveli State Prize of Georgia and the State Prize of Russia (Triumph). She is also a People’s Artist of Georgia and of the Russian Federation, and a recipient of the Georgian Order of Honor, Georgian Order of Excellence, and the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity by the president of Italy. In 2017, she received the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, a Japanese government honor established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan.

    Merrill Ashley was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and began her ballet training when she was seven years old. At 13, she won one of the first Ford Foundation scholarships to the School of American Ballet. In 1967, she was invited to join NYCB and was promoted to principal dancer in 1977. In addition to dancing classic Balanchine works like Concerto Barocco, Firebird, and Square Dance, Balanchine choreographed Ballo della Regina and Ballade for her. One of the great Balanchine ballerinas, Ashley retired from the stage in 1997 and currently stages and coaches Balanchine ballets around the world. The film The Dance Goodbye documents her transition into retirement. She is the author of Dancing for Balanchine and co-author of The Balanchine Essays.

    Born in Milan, Italy, Alessandra Ferri joined the Royal Ballet in 1980 where Sir Kenneth MacMillan selected her for leading roles in his ballets Romeo and Juliet, Manon, and Mayerling, and choreographed others for her. In 1985, Ferri joined ABT as a principal dancer. She is also a permanent guest artist at La Scala. From 2008–2014, she directed dance at the Spoleto Festival. Ferri choreographed The Piano Upstairs, written by John Weidman, and was directed by Martha Clarke in Cherì. Other roles created for her includes Virgina Woolf in Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works and Eleonora Duse in John Neumeier’s Duse. She premiered McGregor’s Witness with Herman Cornejo at the 2016 Fall for Dance Festival and AFTERITE for ABT in 2018. In 2019, with Cornejo, Ferri inaugurated the new Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House with Trio ConcertDance. Ferri received numerous international awards including two Sir Lawrence Olivier Award, the Dance Magazine Award, and the Benois de la Danse.

    During her long career with NYCB, Stephanie Saland performed in leading roles under Balanchine's direction and received guidance from Jerome Robbins for two decades. Saland was a guest performer in Nureyev and Friends, Giselle with Alexander Godunov, and numerous Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts. Since 1993, she has been a freelance instructor based in Seattle where she continues to teach, coach, and mentor throughout the US and internationally. Saland is inspired and informed by non-ballet modalities and is working to evolve a teaching style that synthesizes and provides a creative response to the valuable aspects of these approaches.

    Pam Tanowitz is a New York-based choreographer and founder of Pam Tanowitz Dance. Her work was selected by The New York Times’ “Best of Dance” from 2013 to 2015 and 2017 to 2019. Tanowitz’s 2017 New Work for Goldberg Variations, created in collaboration with pianist Simone Dinnerstein, was called a “rare achievement” (The New York Times). Her most recent work, Four Quartets (2018), inspired by T.S. Eliot’s literary masterpiece and set to music by Kaija Saariaho, was called "the greatest creation of dance theater so far this century” (The New York Times). Tanowitz’s work was featured at The Juilliard School and City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival in 2012, 2015, and 2018. Her piece One Last Good Chance was co-commissioned by the Fall for Dance Festival and Vail International Dance Festival in 2015. Tanowitz’s honors include two Bessie awards in addition to numerous commissions and fellowships.

    Alastair Macaulay was chief theater critic of the Financial Times from 1994 to 2007, and chief dance critic of The New York Times from 2007 to 2018. In 1983, he was founding editor of the British quarterly Dance Theatre Journal, and in 1988 and 1992, he was guest dance critic to The New Yorker. He has written the short biography Margot Fonteyn (1998) and the extensive book of interviews Matthew Bourne and His Adventures in Dance (2011). He has convened a series of seminars at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts on ballets from Giselle to Afternoon of a Faun and has given public presentations there on dance from The Sleeping Beauty to Merce Cunningham. A Director’s Fellow at the NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts in 2020, he is working on a critical biography of Merce Cunningham.

     

    NEW YORK CITY CENTER (Arlene Shuler, President & CEO) has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city since 1943. The distinctive neo-Moorish theater welcomes over 300,000 annual visitors to experience internationally acclaimed artists on the same stage where legends like George Balanchine, Leonard Bernstein, and Barbara Cook made their mark. Its landmark 75th Anniversary Season (2018 – 2019) paid tribute to this rich history and celebrated the institution’s singular role in the arts today. City Center’s Tony-honored Encores! series has celebrated the tradition of American musical theater for over 25 years. In 2013, City Center launched the Encores! Off-Center series, which brings today’s innovative artists into contact with groundbreaking musicals from the more recent past. Dance has also been integral to the theater’s mission from the start and programs like the annual Fall for Dance Festival, with all tickets $15, remain central to City Center’s identity. Home to a roster of renowned national and international companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (City Center’s Principal Dance Company) and Manhattan Theatre Club, New York City Center is Manhattan’s first performing arts center, founded by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia with the mission of making the best in music, theater, and dance accessible to all audiences. That mission continues today through its dynamic programming, art exhibitions, studio events, and master classes, which are complemented by education and community engagement programs that bring the performing arts to over 11,000 New York City students, teachers, and families each year. NYCityCenter.org

  3. City Center has an interesting offering: 

    https://www.nycitycenter.org/pdps/2019-2020/live-at-home/studio-5/

     

    Live @ Home

    Studio 5 | Great American Ballerinas

    Event

     

    Jul 16 & 30 and Sep 16, 23 & 30

     

    All programs are on view for seven days following the first airing

    nycc20_livehome_studio5_pdp_main2.jpg
     
     

    Overview

    American Ballet Theatre (ABT) principal dancer Misty Copeland and New York City Ballet (NYCB) principal dancers Sara Mearns and Tiler Peck each work closely on performance excerpts with another acclaimed dance artist in this virtual five-part Studio 5 series curated and hosted by dance critic and historian Alastair Macaulay. Participating guests include Nina Ananiashvili, Merrill Ashley, Alessandra Ferri, Stephanie Saland, and Pam Tanowitz.

    All virtual Studio 5 events will be streamed for one week on City Center’s YouTube channel and can also be viewed below on this page. Following the week-long streaming period, City Center members will receive access to an archive of the full series.

    Studio 5 | Great American Ballerinas is part of City Center’s Live @ Home virtual programming and includes the following events.

    • Tiler Peck with Merrill Ashley
      On view from Thu Jul 16 at 3pm
    • Sara Mearns with Nina Ananiashvili
      On view from Thu Jul 30 at 12pm
    • Tiler Peck with Stephanie Saland 
      On view from Wed Sep 16 at 5pm
    • Sara Mearns with Pam Tanowitz 
      On view from Wed Sep 23 at 5pm
    • Misty Copeland with Alessandra Ferri
      On view from Wed Sep 30 at 5pm

    All programs are on view for seven days following the first airing.

    Want to enjoy all Studio 5 | Great American Ballerinas virtual events anytime you like?

    Become a Friend of City Center today to receive exclusive access to an archive of the full five-part virtual Studio 5 series and other great benefits. Memberships start at $100. Join today!

     

    Schedule

    TILER PECK WITH MERRILL ASHLEY 
    Thu Jul 16 at 3pm
    On view for seven days through Wed Jul 22

    In the first program of the series, NYCB principal dancer Tiler Peck, famous for her prodigious technique and musicality, works with former NYCB star and ballet master Merrill Ashley. Ashley created numerous roles for George Balanchine and is credited with establishing unprecedented levels of technique in the 1970s and ‘80s. Together they will explore a selection of Balanchine solos with Ashley coaching Peck live.


    SARA MEARNS WITH NINA ANANIASHVILI
    Thu Jul 30 at 12pm 
    On view for seven days through Wed Aug 5

    NYCB principal dancer Sara Mearns has become known as one of America’s foremost interpreters of the dual role of Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. She explores this classic role live alongside Georgian ballerina Nina Ananiashvili—a former principal dancer with Bolshoi Ballet and ABT, among others, and widely known as “one of the twelve greatest ballerinas of all time” (Daily Telegraph).


    TILER PECK WITH STEPHANIE SALAND
    Wed Sep 16 at 5pm 
    On view for seven days through Tue Sep 22

    NYCB principal dancer Tiler Peck works with former NYCB ballerina Stephanie Saland on the “green” solo from Jerome Robbins’s 1969 classic Dances at a Gathering. The only female solo in the hour-long quintessential piano ballet, Saland was coached in the role by Robbins himself who also choreographed a number of roles for her in the 1970s and ‘80s.


    SARA MEARNS WITH PAM TANOWITZ
    Wed Sep 23 at 5pm 
    On view for seven days through Tue Sep 29

    NYCB principal dancer Sara Mearns works with choreographer Pam Tanowitz to explore new solo material created for her. Both artists have extended their artistic range in recent years—Tanowitz revealing her distinct choreographic voice through a witty and inventive post-modern treatment of classical dance vocabulary and Mearns expanding her repertory to include works by modern dance pioneers Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and Merce Cunningham, among others.


    MISTY COPELAND WITH ALESSANDRA FERRI
    Wed Sep 30 at 5pm 
    On view for seven days through Tue Oct 6

    In the final program of the series, Misty Copeland, the first African American principal ballerina with the prestigious ABT, revisits Juliet’s solo scenes in Act Three of Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet to demonstrate how a ballerina continually refines her repertory, along with international ballet star and ABT principal dancer Alessandra Ferri.

    All programming subject to change.

  4. New blog:

     

    AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE LAUNCHES SIDEBARRE,
    A WEEKLY BLOG SERIES FEATURING A BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT THE ABT COMMUNITY

    SideBarre, a weekly blog series featured on www.abt.org/blog/sidebarre/, takes readers on a journey of ABT behind-the-scenes with posts from ABT dancers and conductors, staff and production crew. SideBarre offers insights from a cross-section of the Company. Check in each week to hear from members of the artistic, education, music, make-up and wardrobe departments about their careers, mentors and memorable moments.

    “ABT SideBarre is a window to discover the extraordinary individuals who work behind the scenes at ABT, as well as to discover new dimensions of the performers we all admire on stage,” said Executive Director Kara Medoff Barnett. “During the pandemic, with live performances on pause, we have asked ABT talent to reflect and share their stories. We invite you to enjoy these thoughtful essays and to revisit the SideBarre frequently!”

    For more information on ABT or to donate to the ABT Crisis Relief Fund, please visit www.abt.org.

  5. 19 hours ago, Buddy said:

    Thanks, Dirac. I caught that and corrected it just before you posted. I did think that Kyra Nichols and Sean Lavery were absolutely charming as well, but Suzanna Farrell and 'Sean Lavery' (just kidding)  and the entire ensemble were, well yes -- Magnificent ! 

    Agree with both of you @Buddy @dirac - I was struck most by Mozartiana. I have to check if the demis are the same as the piece was choreographed on but their section was just so beautiful and revelatory.  As lovely as I've found the ladies who have recently performed it (and performed it over the years) these dancers appeared so relaxed. Usually it's performed as if they're all afraid they might break something. But the video showed women who were absolutely secure in the piece. So much so, they ould play with it and were almost soloists in their interpreting (rather than just getting through and not messing it up). They appeared so free. Of course, all three ballets were magnificent. Nice trip down memory lane. Like some of you, I both watched the company then, have an old VHS recording and seen the previous posts on YT. There's something about the program being stream that made me sit and watch from beginning to end in nearly real time. 

  6. Unfortunately, it seems the only way to initiate change was to call people out. I support Nicholas Rose. Even before this point in time, I always found his posts full of love for ballet as an art form, its history and his colleagues. It might have been messy, but it moved the needle. It shouldn't have had to come to this. It's a shame that it was put on the shoulders of young people just starting their careers. People have been trying to instigate change via the normal, "quiet channels." Not much happened. He was very emotional but it really challenged his followers to look at themselves and the leaders in the dance world to examine a shoddy system. I was disgusted with some of the things that were allegedly said to him by top professionals. 

  7. From ABT:

    AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE TO CANCEL 2020 FALL SEASON AT DAVID H. KOCH THEATER

    Due to ongoing concerns relating to COVID-19, American Ballet Theatre announced the cancellation of its 2020 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, originally planned for October 21 November 1, 2020. The cancellation was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie and Executive Director Kara Medoff Barnett.

    We had planned a robust season of new work and beloved ballets from our historical repertoire in honor of ABT’s 80th Anniversary, and it is deeply disappointing not to be able to train, rehearse, create and perform,” said Kevin McKenzie, ABT Artistic Director. “We eagerly look forward to a time when it is safe for us all to come together again.”

    “The past few months have been a time of adapting, experimenting and learning,” said Kara Medoff Barnett. “The health and safety of our artists, staff and audiences are our highest priority. We are committed to continuing to create through this crisis, and we are exploring a range of outdoor and digital opportunities. While we cannot gather large groups in traditional venues, we can find new ways to deliver on our mission of reaching the widest possible audience, increasing access to the art form of ballet and the inspiring artists of American Ballet Theatre. Without ticket sales or touring fees available to support our business model, we are grateful to our generous sponsors, donors and fans everywhere for their steadfast support through this turbulent time.”

    For more information on American Ballet Theatre, please visit www.abt.org.

  8. A note on the change from the website: 

     

    A note on this performance of Coppélia
    The decision was made by New York City Ballet and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts to stream the third act of Coppélia instead of the full-length production. The production from that time included, in the second act, the character of a Chinese doll wearing a mask and making movements that were ethnically and racially insensitive. In recent years, New York City Ballet has changed the costume, make-up design, and movements for this character to eliminate the Yellowface signifiers. The program that will stream on Monday better aligns with the values of NYCB and Lincoln Center. We commit to continued examination of this alignment moving forward.

    So it nothing to do with dancing matchsticks. This reason is understandable. 

  9. An email from Lincoln Center:

    Dear Patrons,

    We hope this email finds you and your loved ones safe and well.

    We have missed our audiences and sharing great artistry on campus over the past three months. During this extended closure, we have continued to assess the public health situation and sought guidance from local, state, and federal authorities.

    As a continued effort to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus and to prioritize the health of our communities, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s White Light Festival, performances in our Great Performers series through January 26, 2021, and performances in our David Rubenstein Atrium through January 28, 2021. While we deeply regret the need to do this, the health and safety of theatergoers, patrons, staff, volunteers, and artists is our top priority.

     

    At Lincoln Center, we’re as committed as ever to connecting you to the arts, knowing that the inspiration, reflection, and hope that they bring are vital to us all. Currently, and for the foreseeable future, we’ve taken our work online with Lincoln Center at Home, our arts and education portal. We hope you’ll engage with the captivating performances and creative lessons offered there.

     

    As always, thank you for your patronage. We look forward to reopening the campus and bringing you the great artistry that you’ve come to expect at Lincoln Center as soon as we can.

  10. Press release:

    NEW YORK CITY BALLET
    CANCELS TEN WEEKS OF PERFORMANCES INCLUDING 2020 FALL SEASON
    AND ANNUAL ENGAGEMENT OF 
    GEORGE BALANCHINE’S THE NUTCRACKER®

    New York City Ballet today announced the cancellation of its 2020 Fall Season which was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, September 22 and continue for four weeks, through Sunday, October 18, at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. NYCB has also cancelled its 2020-21 engagement of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, which was scheduled to take place from Friday, November 27 through Sunday, January 3.

    The announcement was made by NYCB Executive Director Katherine Brown and Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford. “We are devasted to cancel another ten weeks of performances, including New York City Ballet’s annual fall season and beloved holiday performances of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®,” said Brown and Stafford. “However, the health and safety of our artists, staff, and audiences is our number one priority during the ongoing pandemic. Based on advice and guidelines from government officials and medical professionals, it has become clear that it will not be safe through the end of the year for large groups to gather safely indoors and for our artists to rehearse and interact as they would need to in order to present live performances,” said Brown and Stafford.

    The Company’s 2020 Fall Season would also have marked the first performances programmed by NYCB’s new artistic leadership team of Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford, Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan, and Resident Choreographer and Artistic Advisor Justin Peck.

    “We were very excited to present our first season of programming and we are heartbroken that several exciting new works as well as the extraordinary ballets of our co-founders, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, can no longer take place this fall,” said Whelan, who spearheads the Company’s artistic programming efforts. “I am especially disappointed that new commissions from choreographers Sidra Bell and Andrea Miller, both of whom were scheduled to make their first-ever works for NYCB for the fall gala, will not take place as planned. However, I am thrilled that Sidra and Andrea have agreed to return for our 2021 Fall Season, and I can’t wait to have these remarkable women in NYCB’s rehearsal studios creating new work with our beautiful dancers.”

    “The cancellation of The Nutcracker is particularly difficult for me,” said Stafford. “It is obviously extremely important financially, but this great masterpiece also provides a vital introduction to ballet for thousands of children each year.” In addition to the countless children who see this holiday classic with their families and the hundreds of NYCB public school students who attend one of two free matinees as part of NYCB’s School Programs, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® also provides the first on-stage experiences for more than 100 young students from the School of American Ballet who perform in the ballet each season. “It is tremendously disheartening that so many young people will not have these experiences this year,” said Stafford who is the Artistic Director of both NYCB and the School of American Ballet.

    NYCB hopes to resume performances at Lincoln Center with its 2021 Winter Season, which is scheduled to begin a six-week run on Tuesday, January 19. As the Company did during the recently cancelled 2020 Spring Season, New York City Ballet plans to present digital offerings during the period of time when live performances will not be possible.

    NYCB has also created a special Relief Fund for patrons who would like to support the Company and help to sustain NYCB through the very challenging days of the COVID-19 crisis. Contributions can be made at nycballet.com/donate or by texting the word BALLET to 31966. All contributions to NYCB’s Relief Fund are 100% tax deductible and will be matched one to one by an anonymous donor (up to $250,000) through June 30.

  11. 1 minute ago, California said:

    I'm confused. If the people now are worried about the matchstick look of Coppelia, it's consistent with Robbins' complaint about it in 1978. So they are only going to give us Act III.

    Is the June 29 show still on? I hope so! Very  hard to keep up! It's not on the Lincoln Center page anymore.

    Yes. Here's the page on LC's website: http://lincolncenter.org/lincoln-center-at-home/show/tribute-to-balanchine-1983-926

  12. 2 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:

    Couldn't they show both? I'd happily take the matchsticks and the centennial. 🥺

    I had originally edited my comment to add that we know that the Balanchine Trust does not like having videos of complete ballets out there as they think it will lead to unauthorized performances. If that's the reason, frustrating. They could have shown both shows (as we discussed, that Who Cares excerpt is undermined by not using the usual version of the music). But then I re-read that note about Lincoln Center and NYCB reviewing the footage...Maybe its possible the master copy isn't in great shape. I don't know. Maybe I have a skeptical nature! 

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