Premabalrina

A Marie Antoinette ballet would be beautiful. Think elaborate costumes. I was entertaining this idea with my co-workers after seeing the Sophia Coppola movie.

What other ballet boards are there where you can freely speak your mind? Anyone know?

From the research I did, I found that it is only being broadcasted on PBS HD (High Definition). Anyone know if it will be rebroadcasted on regular PBS in the near future??

Correct me if i'm wrong, but I don't believe that Suki was ever a principal dancer with NYCB.

I can tell you for a fact that the pictures of the male dancer is Bryce Corson who currently dances with Arizona Ballet.

Yes, it is indeed Faye Arthurs on the left. As a former classmate and friend of hers, I see that her looks have definitely changed! [snip] Either way, she looks beautiful in this picture, and has come a long way to become such an accomplished dancer. I look forward to seeing her move up in the ranks at NYCB!

And it seems that PBT is all about PNB! That would be an interesting merge for sure!

This is the latest news in the story I have been following about Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's financial problems. It seems that a lot of companies have had to cut back this season, but most have made cuts in the staff, not hired more dancers, or simply not offered raises to the dancers as alternatives to helping the particular companies financial situation. In a city like Pittsburgh, cutting the orchestra from the ballets while keeping the ticket prices the same is not going to encourage more ticket sales which is essentially why PBT didn't make a significant amount of money last season. If they can save money, great. Anything to keep PBT in Pittsburgh. As long as the company is still alive, that's all that really matters. I just hate to go see a ballet performance in Pittsburgh without a live orchestra where the Pittsburgh Symphony is one of the best, world renowned symphonies. It is an honor to hear them play and even more of an honor to dance with them. Hearing the live orchestra is a perk to going to the ballet. Imagine going to see NYCB with no live orchestra! Not that PBT is of their professional or financial status, but I feel that at one time PBT was regarded very highly in the ballet world. I think most of all this is heartbreaking to me, having grown up with PBT... *Quote courtesy of Pittsburgh Post Gazette, to read whole article visit pittsburghpostgazette.com

Weird thing is, her Freed pointe shoe maker retired too!

Report back after you see the ballet to let us know how it was!

I think that dancers who seem to have the best musicality have studied music in their youth or come from a musical background. Some are born with a good musical sense, others have to work hard to "hear" the music or even count the music. I think it would be hard to be a dancer without good knowledge of music. I know SAB used to make their students take piano lessons to better their musical understanding. I'm not sure if they still do this today, but I think they were on the right track.

That site is wonderful. Not only does it have photos of Ballet Austin, but also other companies in Texas including Texas Ballet Theatre and Houston Ballet!

I am a former apprentice with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. I was there during the first year PBT did the "Grad Program". There were only 8 Grads, 4 boys and 4 girls. Then, the grads actually were paid for the company performances they were in and given shoes, much like the apprentices. These days, I am hearing from the staff that the grad program has grown to 20-some dancers, making it much like a trainee program. With the school directors changing yearly, I would be hesitant to commit. However, PBT is a wonderful environment to train in. I think the grad program is perfect for girls recently graduating high school, who think that they need another solid year to concentrate on training. It is the perfect "stepping-stone" to joining a company. Good luck to you and enjoy! You'll absolutely love it there!

Looks like the Rockettes will be performing Nov. 10-Dec. 4 which would possibly cut into the first week of Nutcracker. This would also cut ticket sales for PBT since people might be spending their money on Rockette tickets instead of the Nutcracker. With the "million dollar" defecit, Orr should cut down the usual 4-5 week Nutcracker run to just 2 weeks. That way the ticket sales wouldn't be so spread out, giving the ballet a chance to fill the house. It was one thing when PBT performed Balanchines "Nutcracker", but with the "New Nutcracker" reviewed as 'not so exciting,' I doubt that it has reached out and touched previous non-ballet going Pittsburghers. That's what I would propose to the board to save money. Not sure about this one...I will try to find out though.

These quotes are curtosey of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. www.post-gazette.com/pg/05146/510566.stm What will happen to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre? With their recent losses of many key board members, marketing director, fund raisers, and the school director, Roberto Munoz, it seems as though everyone has given up on the company. Will ballets such as "Tribute to Paul Simon" really lure in the conservative Pittsburgh crowd, helping to rid the company of its dept? Or will performing such non-classical ballets just contribute to it?

This is definitely a creative idea! However, how many e-bay members are going to type "ballet austin" into the search engine? Is this posted on the company's website so that word will get around?

Seeing a dancer out of breath makes dancing look like work, where some feel that ballet should look effortless. Kind of makes you ask yourself, 'Does that dancer smoke?'

The US government's view of the arts is the same as most of americans. Why spend money on "living art" or the theatre when you can sit at home and watch one of the hundred TV channels offered on cable. Your average american would rather sit at home and watch a reality TV show than see something real before their eyes on a stage. No wonder the obesity epidemic is growing.

Seems like its always male directors or just men in general complaining about noisy pointe shoes. The truth is, if a dancers shoes aren't noisy, chances are the shoes are dead. "Dead" shoes are unsupportive and can be dangerous to a certain extent causing a dancer to "roll-over" her shoes or possibly sprain her ankle. Another factor is what the dancers are using to harden and preserve their shoes. Most dancer in the US use something called Jet Glue to extend the life of their pointe shoes. Unfortunately, while doubling the life of the shoes, it makes the shoes very loud. Also, what kind of stage floor are the russian companies using? A lot of times a badly sprung floor will be noisy and slick. It's easy to complain, but try stepping into our shoes for a day!

Whether that is the picture in the brochure or not, that is a terrible picture. Very amateur looking...doesn't represent the company, let alone promote it very well.

As far as having a beautiful body-type and line, Arthurs has it! However, I have to agree by saying that her stage presence isn't anything more than "average." An icy, pouty look is not appropriate for all ballets...

Good to see Faye Arthurs in the mix more. The Four T's is right up her alley! Best of luck to her.

A lot of companies use the shorter dancers to do principle roles...especially in more classic ballets. There is nothing wrong with the principle character being smaller than the rest of the corps. In fact, it seems to usually be that way. Still, I doubt 5'1'' looks that short next to a 5'3'' corps de ballet dancer...unless the company is full of amazons or the 5'1'' dancer is overweight for her height. (Which is doubtful)

I was heavily involved at PBT about 5 years ago, which was a few years after Patricia Wilde's departure. I am a Pittsburgh native, and my mother still sends me the articles she finds in the paper on PBT. I grew up idolizing the company dancers, many of which left after Orr took over (or their contracts were not renewed due to his preferences). The companies rep. while Patricia was running the company was amazing. Balanchines Nutcracker was a favorite among many Pittsburghers. I think things started going downhill when Orr decided to create his own Nutcracker, and along with quality fell the ticket sales. (Not to forget the huge defecit the company suffered the year before after signing for Ben Stevenson's Cleopatra...which was not embraced well by Pittsburgh audiences) Now don't get me wrong, Pittsburgh as a city is a little behind and conservative so ballets like "Brand new day" and "tribute to Paul Simon" might sound attractive to the average joe. But the legacy of Patricia Wilde was so much greater, and the company was so much more exciting to watch when they did more classical pieces! I am still not so sure which direction Orr is trying to take the company. Maybe he is taking a more contemporary approach...but then why did he hire a bunch of girls from PNB, obviously more classicaly trained? Maybe he is doing everything he can to bring in more money. What have you heard about the company? I hope things get better!

Could the $5 off ticket cost promotion be because of their million dollar debt ? (The companies debt has been the topic of a few articles in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette recently) Ticket prices have gone up, and from what I read a lot of the long time ticket holders were forced to give up their regular yearly seats. How is this supposed to encourage the public to want to come see the ballet...or at least encourage former season ticket holders to re-subscribe?