doug

The complete presentation is now posted:

Thanks, everyone. AGMA granted our waiver to have the presentations live streamed and posted in perpetuity. I assume they'll be up before long.

I saw three performances and really enjoyed them. The production is beautiful. The Harvard notes include virtually no port de bras, save for the few variations that are notated twice. The second notation of each of these, interpolated into the main body of notations, includes choreography for the entire body. That said, those "complete" notations are mostly the notation work of students and must be considered accordingly.

Raymonda's Act Two variation is notated twice. In the notation that is in the main body of the notation of the ballet, the variation is notated as danced by Preobrazhenskaya. The passage that has been under discussion is notated as a plie in fifth position (left foot front), followed by a jump up onto pointe, still in fifth (left foot front), followed by a hop on pointe, still in fifth (left foot front), with no entrechat quatre or changement. this is followed by a hop onto the right pointe with the left leg extended behind at 45 degrees high with the knee bent 45 degrees (a long, low attitude). Then the dancer plies in fifth and begins the combination again. She performs this twelve times, traveling from USC to DSC. No notation is given for head, arms, or torso.

In the second, "complete" notation of this variation (which also includes Preobrazhenskaya's name, omits a combination included in the main notation, and therefore appears to be incomplete, and which also includes several variants of combinations from the main notation), the passage in question is notated as 24 hops on pointe with changement, beginning with the right foot front and traveling forward on the diagonal from USL to DSR. The dancer's head is turned to the left and her arms are in first position. After the first four hops, the left arm opens to the side and the head faces forward, i.e., in the direction she is traveling. After six hops, the right arm is raised overhead and the dancer's head is bent back as though she is looking up at her raised hand. After 8 hops, the notation indicates the sequence of 8 hops should be repeated twice for a total of 24 hops.

The Danse Orientale is not included in the Stepanov notation of Raymonda. My current thought is that it was cut, either by the time of the premiere or shortly after. Also in Act 1 scene 2, the third variation in the dream scene was replaced by a variation taken from Glazunov's Scenes de ballet (the violin solo variation for Raymonda).

Thank you for all this wonderful information! What a story. I'll have to look up this source.

Laying Giselle on a bed of flowers stage left goes back to the original production of 1841 and is in all the sources Marian Smith and I recently consulted for Giselle in Seattle, including the Russian Stepanov notations. Although this ending wasn't used in Seattle, I think it works brilliantly dramatically because it represents Albrecht bringing Giselle to his side of the stage (stage left) and, in my opinion, Giselle's redemption. Good for Balanchine! (That said, it's probably easier said than done, stagecraft-wise.)

Thank you so much for clarifying!

Any clarification of dates? There seem to be two sets of dates through the La Scala site.

This variation, including the hops on pointe, is included in the Stepanov notation of Giselle Act One, which was made circa 1903, the year Pavlova first danced the role. The music is included in both the piano score (a manuscript interpolation) and full score of Giselle that are also part of the Harvard Collection.

Thanks, Helene. We've also got a timeline up that helps give context to the source material we're using.

Rehearsals begin again in earnest on April 12.

PNB's Giselle scenario, based on the original and translated and adapted by Marian Smith, is now up on the company's website.

Hi Sandi,

The scenic designs are actually painted drops, rather than projections. Beautiful work!

In brief, we are amalgamating three sources as we put the ballet together: the 1842 repetiteur (action described in prose and linked to corresponding music), the 1860s Justamant notation (very detailed blocking and action), and the Stepanov notation circa 1899-1903 (choreography). The 1884 pas de deux does not appear to be notated. The score we are using is a recent edition of the autograph score by Adam, supplemented by additional French sources produced in close proximity to the premiere. The traditional interpolations will be included (Giselle's Act I variation and Giselle's Act II waltz variation). The Burgmuller "Peasant" pas de deux will also be included.

See Marian Smith's book, Ballet and Opera in the Age of Giselle.

The steps are notated with a flat foot in the Stepanov notation of Giselle.

The image on the CD is the design for Act II - Cour d'amour.

The Seasons is, unfortunately, not in the Harvard collection. Ruses is, but, for the most part, the notations are very sketchy and don't offer much substantial data. I also love Glazunov's ballet scores. I think Raymonda is one of the great underdogs, if you will, of the 19th-century full-length repertory.

Seth is Seth Orza, who joined PNB this season, coming from NYCB. Carla Korbes is currently out with a back injury. (This has been reported several times in Seattle papers.)

In my opinion, they are all indispensable. I re-read them often. Writing in the Dark includes a few from each of Croce's three collections plus more recent material.

I've always thought Kistler looked fantastic in the Theme segment, dancing the ballet the way I wish American dancers would dance the older classical ballets.

We just received a copy of the Hogan book at Pacific Northwest Ballet. I've not read it yet, but it includes some wonderful photos I've never seen.

I don't have immediate access to all of the notations of The Sleeping Beauty, including this particular section. Outside of the actual prose conversation being included in the libretto or balletmaster's plan (see Wiley), the only other potential source I am aware of is the Stepanov notation of this scene. Mime conversations are written in prose in Stepanov notation; gestures are not described. If the prose exists, translation into mime gesture would be editorial.

In my experience, a commissioning company usually retains the right to perform the new work exclusively for a period of time (say three years) before the choreographer can license it to another company. The choreographer holds the copyright for his/her choreography.

Following the pianist, Olivier Wevers is the first character on stage - the music lover - in The Concert. Jonathan Porretta is the husband, the Groucho Marx character.

PNB's regular season actually begins right away - this Thursday, Sept 20!

Each has a wonderful entry in "I Remember Balanchine."