PeggyR

As you would expect, nobody has anything particularly profound to say in 30 seconds, but don't miss Tiit Helimets' description of Christmas dinner in Estonia ("...I guess it sounds disgusting..."), or Vitor Luiz on the rigors of wearing a Santa Claus costume in a country where Christmas is in the summer.

It’s that time again. December 11, matinee Interesting seat location: third row orchestra -- Christmas present to myself. Although it was fun seeing the dancers’ faces up close (and hearing their costumes, which can be surprisingly noisy), it’s really too close -- the ‘work’ is more evident: heavy breathing, perspiration, partnering stresses, hanging threads from costumes. All part of the ‘reality’ of ballet, but I don’t go to ballet for reality; if I want reality I can plonk a chair in front of my kitchen sink full of unwashed dished and watch the mold grow. The main interest today was the prominence of members of the corps de ballet in most of the solo roles, and the debuts of corps dancers Quinn Wharton and Jennifer Stahl as the Snow King and Queen. Wharton has never made any impression on me in the past and today did nothing to change that. To be fair, the role doesn’t give him much to do, although it has to be said that some dancers can make you think you’ve seen them ‘do’ more than they really have. Wharton hasn’t reached that point yet, but he has good material to work with -- an attractive classical line and nice, soft landings for a start. Stahl, tall and leggy and possessor of those much-debated, six-o’clock extensions, did a nice job with an equally thankless role. Interestingly, after a couple of ear-thumping développés, she seemed to pull back a little and the extensions and arabesques went down to somewhere less stratospheric, which did a lot to enhance her naturally lovely line. Among the rest, Isaac Hernandez and Daniel Devison stood out. In the Spanish dance Hernandez managed to maintain his dignity while wearing what appears to be every costume designer’s idea of how Spanish men dress - sort-of bull fighter outfit with those big-brimmed hats which have the unfortunate effect of making the men look like toadstools. The non-vegetable Hernandez zipped through some stunning air turns. As the lead Russian, Deivison nearly stopped the show with a cheeky and assured performance, along with what had to be the most astonishing display of those split jumps I’ve ever seen ( and this role is frequently performed by a soloist or principal, so I’ve seen some good ones). The last few were higher, faster, sharper than the first. He’s been on my radar for a while and he just keeps getting better. FYI the Russian dance retains the choreography by Anatole Vilzak. Among the principals on display, it was good to see Jaime Garcia Castilla in excellent form, partnering Francis Chung. She is a great favorite, although there are times I wish she would shade her dancing more -- hit the ‘ta-da’ moments more effectively. And her allegro is broader than, for example, Kochetkova’s; I’d like a little more delicacy -- less fine cotton and more silk.

In the finest tradition of investigative journalism, The New Yorker has apparently uncovered new information about Sergei Diaghilev, information that will fascinate ballet lovers everywhere: Print issue dated December 13, 2010 Page 95 Article: A Year's Reading Subheading: Nonfiction Now you know.

Casts for the first seven Nutcrackers, opening Thursday, December 9. Opening Night 
Thursday, December 09, 2010, 7pm
 Conductor: Martin West

 Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith
 Queen and King of the Snow: Yuan Yuan Tan, Artem Yachmennikov*
 Sugar Plum Fairy: Lorena Feijoo
 Grand Pas de Deux: Vanessa Zahorian, Taras Domitro 
Friday, December 10, 2010, 2pm
 Conductor: Martin West

 Drosselmeyer: Jorge Esquivel
 Queen and King of the Snow: Elana Altman, Anthony Spaulding
 Sugar Plum Fairy: Frances Chung
 Grand Pas de Deux: Clara Blanco, Isaac Hernandez* Friday, December 10, 2010, 7pm
 Conductor: Martin West

 Drosselmeyer: Val Caniparoli
 Queen and King of the Snow: Lorena Feijoo, Hansuke Yamamoto
 Sugar Plum Fairy: Sofiane Sylve
 Grand Pas de Deux: Sarah Van Patten, Tiit Helimets Saturday, December 11, 2010, 2pm
 Conductor: Ming Luke

 Drosselmeyer: Yuri Possokhov
 Queen and King of the Snow: Jennifer Stahl*, Quinn Wharton*
 Sugar Plum Fairy: Maria Kochetkova
 Grand Pas de Deux: Frances Chung, Jaime Garcia Castilla Saturday, December 11, 2010, 7pm
 Conductor: Martin West

 Drosselmeyer: Yuri Possokhov
 Queen and King of the Snow: Vanessa Zahorian, Taras Domitro
 Sugar Plum Fairy: Elana Altman 
Grand Pas de Deux: Sofiane Sylve*, Artem Yachmennikov* Sunday, December 12, 2010, 2pm
 Conductor: Martin West

 Drosselmeyer: Ricardo Bustamante
 Queen and King of the Snow: Elana Altman, Anthony Spaulding
 Sugar Plum Fairy: Sarah Van Patten
 Grand Pas de Deux: Yuan Yuan Tan, Vito Mazzeo* 
Sunday, December 12, 2010, 7pm
 Conductor: Ming Luke 

Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith
 Queen and King of the Snow: Maria Kochetkova*, Pascal Molat 
Sugar Plum Fairy: Sofiane Sylve
 Grand Pas de Deux: Lorena Feijoo, Vitor Luiz

San Francisco Ballet's at least once; any others will depend on posted casting. Two others playing locally I may go to if SFB doesn't trump them with casts I want to see: the resurgent (again) Oakland Ballet is performing a version by newly appointed AD Graham Lustig; and The Great Russian Nutcracker, which is playing a couple of performances close to where I live. This latter is the one Alastair Macaulay reviewed with some favorable comments (and some not so) in his "Nutcracker Chronicles" in the NYT.

Deleted duplicate post.

Here's what it says on the back of the DVD box: Maybe Amazon UK PAL because that's what is used in Europe and presumably that's where they expect this to sell. Maybe you could contact BelAir Classiques to confirm, but I had no problem with either Region 1 or Region 2 DVD players. NOTE: I should point out that mine is standard DVD, not BluRay.

The whole, big, gigantic thing is hugely, and I mean HUGELY, entertaining. The DVD quality is very good; sharp and bright, clear colors. And, given that this was filmed at a live performance, the photography isn't bad: this is a ballet with plenty of activity happening all at once on various parts of the stage -- the camera has the good sense to keep back far enough so you can see most of what's going on -- there haven't been too many times when I felt I was missing half the action. There's an accompanying, nicely illustrated booklet that details the various scenes and which bits are by Ratmansky and which by Vainonen (spelled Vaynonen in the booklet and Vainonen on the DVD box). All in all worth every penny -- a real keeper. :clapping: Note that this is a region-free DVD. I was able to play it on both my Region 1 and Region 2 players, so Americans shouldn't have a problem with it, although at the moment it looks like you'd have to order it from Amazon UK, since it's not listed on the US site.

The DVD of this production is now available from the Met Opera Shop, Archiv and (best price) Amazon - through the link above, of course.

I have no problem with paying for a program, but hate the idea of electronic programs on the backs of seats. Without a paper program, lovingly (or luckily) preserved for future collectors, how would anyone know that on February 16, 1937, Fonteyn and Helpmann danced the pdd from Les Patineurs, or that in 1931 Alicia Markova and Frederick Ashton performed at the midnight ballet party in aid of Queen Charlotte's hospital, or that on November 25, 1956, Ninette de Valois gave a lecture, "Ballet and the Contemporary Scene", at the Atlanta Woman's Club Auditorium? As a collector myself, the idea of 'electronic programs' makes me shudder! Back to the topic of 'fees' attached to ticket purchases, I'm curious: when tickets are purchased by phone from the dance venue -- e.g., an opera house or where ever the company performs -- I always assumed that it's not an outside ticketing agency providing the service but someone working in the venue box office and that any fees went to (at best) the company or (at worst) the venue. Where do these fees go?

Quoted from San Francisco Ballet's October e-letter: Can't find this on the SFB web site, and the additional performances have not yet been added to the performance calendar, but here's a link for future reference: 2011 Season There goes the almost-paid-off-at-last-so-maybe-I-can-retire-before-the-age-of-90 state of my credit card. Go Phillies!

While rummaging around on YouTube for something completely unrelated, I ran across this. Since this thread seems to be the most recent to mention 'The Gay Parisian', I'll post these two clips here. Apparently, this is the complete version referred to elsewhere as being issued on DVD in the last few years. Film quality isn't very good, but the Technicolor is pretty, and Massine, Franklin, Krassovska and Mladova are terrific, although the latter isn't really a substitute for Danilova; but then, who would be? The Gay Parisian Part 1 Part 2

OK, here's my take on the two you mentioned. T&V and Diamonds (from Jewels): I think the choreography of either would be fine without costumes (Diamonds less so, but T&V definitely interesting in practice clothes); however, Tchaikovsky's music more or less demands the whole shebang for both of them: women in tutus, men in princely regalia, a chandelier or two. Whenever I see Diamonds -- live or on DVD -- I feel like I should be dressed in a satin ballgown, strappy heels and long white gloves, and it's the music that does it. Rubies could certainly be performed without costumes. Emeralds, certainly not. Emeralds shares with Les Sylphides a combination of music, choreography and costume to create an atmosphere that, as richard53dog points out, would be missing without all the parts.

Balanchine's Concerto Barocco. Here's how it looks now: Here's an undated George Platt Lynes photo from an NYCB souvenir booklet of his photographs issued in 1957 as a tribut to Lynes. Costumes by Eugene Berman. Looks like a potential disaster to me!

She joins former SFB dancers Garrett Anderson and Courtney Wright, both of whom moved there a few seasons back.

Casts for the Tivoli engagement. PROGRAM A Saturday, August 21, 2010, 7:30 PM Sunday, August 22, 2010, 2:00 PM Sunday, August 22, 2010, 7:30 PM Friday, August 27, 2010, 7:30 PM PROGRAM B Tuesday, August 24, 2010, 7:30 PM Wednesday, August 25, 2010, 7:30 PM Thursday, August 26, 2010, 7:30 PM PROGRAM A Opening Night Saturday, August 21, 2010, 7:30 PM COPENHAGEN TOUR PRISM Choreography: Helgi Tomasson Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven Conductor: Martin West Piano: Roy Bogas Vanessa Zahorian, Jaime Garcia Castilla, Isaac Hernandez Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets Hansuke Yamamoto INTERMISSION WITHIN THE GOLDEN HOUR Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon Composer: Ezio Bosso, Antonio Vivaldi Conductor: David Briskin Lorena Feijoo*, Damian Smith Maria Kochetkova, Joan Boada Sarah Van Patten, Pierre-François Vilanoba INTERMISSION CHACONNE FOR PIANO AND TWO DANCERS Choreography: Helgi Tomasson Composer: George Frideric Handel Piano: Roy Bogas Vanessa Zahorian, Joan Boada DOUBLE EVIL Choreography: Jorma Elo Composer: Philip Glass, Vladmir Martinov Conductor: Martin West Timpani: Peter Cruz, Jonathan Haas Elana Altman, Pierre-François Vilanoba Sarah Van Patten, Garen Scribner Frances Chung, Pascal Molat Dana Genshaft, Jaime Garcia Castilla PROGRAM A Matinee Sunday, August 22, 2010, 2:00 PM PRISM Choreography: Helgi Tomasson Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven Conductor: Martin West Piano: Roy Bogas Frances Chung, Jaime Garcia Castilla, Isaac Hernandez Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets Hansuke Yamamoto INTERMISSION WITHIN THE GOLDEN HOUR Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon Composer: Ezio Bosso, Antonio Vivaldi Conductor: David Briskin Lorena Feijoo, Damian Smith Maria Kochetkova, Joan Boada Sarah Van Patten, Pierre-François Vilanoba INTERMISSION CHACONNE FOR PIANO AND TWO DANCERS Choreography: Helgi Tomasson Composer: George Frideric Handel Piano: Roy Bogas Maria Kochetkova*, Gennadi Nedvigin* DOUBLE EVIL Choreography: Jorma Elo Composer: Philip Glass, Vladmir Martinov Conductor: Martin West Timpani: Peter Cruz, Jonathan Haas Elana Altman, Pierre-François Vilanoba Sarah Van Patten, Garen Scribner Vanessa Zahorian, Pascal Molat Dana Genshaft, Jaime Garcia Castilla PROGRAM A Evening Sunday, August 22, 2010, 7:30 PM PRISM Choreography: Helgi Tomasson Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven Conductor: Martin West Piano: Roy Bogas Frances Chung, Vitor Luiz*, Pascal Molat Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets Gennadi Nedvigin INTERMISSION WITHIN THE GOLDEN HOUR Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon Composer: Ezio Bosso, Antonio Vivaldi Conductor: David Briskin Lorena Feijoo, Damian Smith Maria Kochetkova, Joan Boada Sarah Van Patten, Pierre-François Vilanoba INTERMISSION CHACONNE FOR PIANO AND TWO DANCERS Choreography: Helgi Tomasson Composer: George Frideric Handel Piano: Roy Bogas Vanessa Zahorian, Joan Boada DOUBLE EVIL Choreography: Jorma Elo Composer: Philip Glass, Vladmir Martinov Conductor: Martin West Timpani: Peter Cruz, Jonathan Haas Elana Altman, Pierre-François Vilanoba Maria Kotchetkova, Luke Willis Frances Chung, Pascal Molat Dana Genshaft, Jaime Garcia Castilla PROGRAM B Evening Tuesday, August 24, 2010, 7:30 PM FUSION Choreography: Yuri Possokhov Composers: Graham Fitkin, Rahul Dev Burman Conductor: Martin West Piano: Michael McGraw, Natal'ya Feygina Saxaphone: Dale Wolford Lorena Feijoo, Joan Boada Maria Kotchetkova, Gennadi Nedvigin Vanessa Zahorian, Jaime Garcia Castilla Yuan Yuan Tan, Damian Smith INTERMISSION STRAVINSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO Choreography: George Blanchine Composer: Igor Stravinsky Conductor: Martin West Aria I: Sofiane Sylve, Pierre-François Vilanoba Aria II: Yuan Yuan Tan, Anthony Spaulding CONCERTO GROSSO Choreography: Helgi Tomasson Composer: Francesco Geminiani after Corelli Conductor: Martin West Pascal Molat Daniel Deivison-Oliveira, Jaime Garcia Castilla, Garen Scribner, Hansuke Yamamoto INTERMISSION SANDPAPER BALLET Choreography: Mark Morris Composer: Leroy Anderson Conductor: Martin West Ensemble PROGRAM B Evening Wednesday, August 25, 2010, 7:30 PM FUSION Choreography: Yuri Possokhov Composers: Graham Fitkin, Rahul Dev Burman Conductor: Martin West Piano: Michael McGraw, Natal'ya Feygina Saxaphone: Dale Wolford Lorena Feijoo, Joan Boada Maria Kotchetkova, Gennadi Nedvigin Frances Chung, Garen Scribner Sarah Van Patten, Daniel Deivison-Oliveira INTERMISSION STRAVINSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO Choreography: George Balanchine Composer: Igor Stravinsky Conductor: Martin West Aria I: Sofiane Sylve, Pierre-François Vilanoba Aria II: Vanessa Zaharian, Ruben Martin Cintas CONCERTO GROSSO Choreography: Helgi Tomasson Composer: Francesco Geminiani after Corelli Conductor: Martin West Vitor Luiz* James Sofranko, Jaime Garcia Castilla, Garen Scribner, Isaac Hernandez* INTERMISSION SANDPAPER BALLET Choreography: Mark Morris Composer: Leroy Anderson Conductor: Martin West Ensemble PROGRAM B Evening Thursday, August 26, 2010, 7:30 PM FUSION Choreography: Yuri Possokhov Composers: Graham Fitkin, Rahul Dev Burman Conductor: Martin West Piano: Michael McGraw, Natal'ya Feygina Saxaphone: Dale Wolford Clara Blanco, Joan Boada Maria Kotchetkova, Gennadi Nedvigin Vanessa Zahorian, Jaime Garcia Castilla Yuan Yuan Tan, Damian Smith INTERMISSION STRAVINSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO Choreography: George Blanchine Composer: Igor Stravinsky Conductor: Martin West Aria I: Sofiane Sylve, Pierre-François Vilanoba Aria II: Yuan Yuan Tan, Anthony Spaulding CONCERTO GROSSO Choreography: Helgi Tomasson Composer: Francesco Geminiani after Corelli Conductor: Martin West Pascal Molat Daniel Deivison-Oliveira, Jaime Garcia Castilla, Garen Scribner, Hansuke Yamamoto INTERMISSION SANDPAPER BALLET Choreography: Mark Morris Composer: Leroy Anderson Conductor: Martin West Ensemble PROGRAM A Evening Friday, August 27, 2010, 7:30 PM PRISM Choreography: Helgi Tomasson Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven Conductor: Martin West Piano: Roy Bogas Vanessa Zahorian, Jaime Garcia Castilla, Isaac Hernandez Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets Hansuke Yamamoto INTERMISSION WITHIN THE GOLDEN HOUR Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon Composer: Ezio Bosso, Antonio Vivaldi Conductor: David Briskin Elizabeth Miner, Pascal Molat Maria Kochetkova, Joan Boada Dana Genshaft, Quinn Wharton* INTERMISSION CHACONNE FOR PIANO AND TWO DANCERS Choreography: Helgi Tomasson Composer: George Frideric Handel Piano: Roy Bogas Maria Kochetkova, Gennadi Nedvigin DOUBLE EVIL Choreography: Jorma Elo Composer: Philip Glass, Vladmir Martinov Conductor: Martin West Timpani: Peter Cruz, Jonathan Haas Jennifer Stahl, Anthony Spaulding Sarah Van Patten, Garen Scribner Vanessa Zahorian, Pascal Molat Dores Andre, James Sofranko * Denotes premiere in role. Casting subject to change.

All gone !!! WHAT are the statistical probabilities of that??? I feel as though my wish list has turned into a curse. Starting with the 2011 season, Daniel Baker is in the corps de ballet at SFB. Your comments make me anxious to see him. Sounds like your curse is our luck!

Who's the dancer at 0:30 (looks like Myrtha)? Impressive!

Program and casting -- here's the link: http://sterngrove.org/august8_10.html Sunday, August 8, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. Admission-Free Performance Sigmund Stern Grove, 19th Ave. & Sloat, San Francisco San Francisco Ballet returns to Stern Grove Festival in its only Bay Area summer appearance. Renowned for its incomparable level of innovation and exuberance, San Francisco Ballet is one of the premier ballet companies in America. The afternoon's program includes: PRISM Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven Conductor: Martin West Piano: Roy Bogas Vanessa Zahorian, Jaime Garcia Castilla, Isaac Hernandez Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun*, Anthony Spaulding* Hansuke Yamamoto INTERMISSION PAS DE DEUX FROM AFTER THE RAIN © Choreographer: Christopher Wheeldon Composer: Arvo Pärt Conductor: Martin West Violin: Heidi Wilcox Yuan Yuan Tan, Damian Smith PAS DE DEUX FROM DON QUIXOTE, ACT 3 Choreographer: after Marius Petipa Composer: Ludwig Minkus Conductor: Martin West Lorena Feijoo, Vitor Luiz INTERMISSION SANDPAPER BALLET Choreographer: Mark Morris Composer: Leroy Anderson Conductor: Martin West Ensemble * Denotes premiere in role. Casting subject to change.

Of course there isn’t any single solution to the problem of increasing the audience for dance, but I firmly believe that we, as knowledgeable dance lovers, have a responsibility to act as ambassadors. My contribution for this year: a few weeks ago one of the women in my office came to work with her foot in one of those temporary walking casts. I asked what happened and she said her 10-year old daughter was taking ballet lessons and she, the mother, decided she would take classes with her daughter and get some much needed exercise. During her second class, mom tripped and broke her toe, hence the cast. To which I replied, “Sorry about the toe did you know that as a subscriber to San Francisco Ballet I can get you a really good discount on Nutcracker tickets?” So, they’re going to see the Nutcracker and if they like that, I plan to steer them gently toward Coppelia... Every little bit helps!

Here are the percentages for San Francisco Ballet for the newly announced 2011 roster. Principals 30% Soloists 15% Corps 56% In view of the economic downturn, it was interesting to see that these percentages do not differ significantly from 2006, although there is a slight shift in distribution. Here are those numbers, not as percentages but separated by male/female. 2006 Principals F 8 M 11 Soloists F 6 M 5 Corps F 23 M 17 Character F 1 M 2 Totals F 38 + M 35 = 73 2011 Principals F 8 M 12 Soloists F 5 M 5 Corps F 23 M 16 Character F-1 M-3 Totals F 37 + M 36 = 73

Link to the press release with information about the new company members. Gone from the new roster: Principal Katita Waldo - retired Soloist Julianne Kepley - to Milwaukee Ballet as principal. Here’s a link to her bio. Corps de Ballet - Brett Bauer David Arce Ludmila Campos Martyn Garside Nicole Grand Margaret Karl

I especially enjoyed this comment about Gomes: [emphasis added]No copy editors?

The video was taken down before I was able to see it, so I can't comment directly on that. However, it seems to me that the problem with young girls or boys acting/dancing/whatever in a sexually mature way is less with their own self-image, but the with image others have of them. How many women have been accused of 'asking for it' by what some perceive as provocative actions (clothing, movements, dancing)? Yes, girls and women have the right to dress or move however they like, but the sad fact is that those actions may provoke others to act inappropriately. Adults can make a choice whether or not to take that risk; young children cannot understand the possible implications of their actions. That's up to their parents, and I worry about the children of parents who don't appear to understand this.

Plus that big horse they parade across the stage (or used to) in 'The Barber of Seville'. I remember that more than anything else about the show, I thought it was such a hoot! It's important to be able to count on at least one place to overdo. And the Met can be trusted in this respect. I mean, who else can really be counted on to deliver an 'Aida' that is gigantic enough? Fortunately, James Levine's genius has made us so we can have it both ways at the Met, with ravishing sound as well as outsize production. Of all the Establishment institutions I can think of in the U.S., the Met gives most bang for the buck. If an animal has, shall we say, an 'accident' on stage, is that called a 'proop'?