PeggyR

A film about the relationship between Fonteyn and Nureyev with minimal dancing isn't about the relationship between Fonteyn and Nureyev, is it?

I was lucky enough to see Fonteyn a few times toward the end of her career, when she was touring with Nureyev. Whatever technical deficiencies she may have had by that time were more than offset by her artistry and the poetry of her movement. I've seen fine dancers since, but for me, Fonteyn remains the touchstone. Thank you, Leonid, for that lovely remembrance.

Here's the link to the press release on the SFB website.

Memo: Here's a link to their Tours page, which discusses the 2008, 75th Anniversary tour. It doesn't say anything about touring this year, but you could check back periodically. Peggy

Here's the link with the complete schedule for the 2010 season.

Subscribers received the following e-mail today. I can't find anything on the website for a link, so I hope it's OK to post this quote.

It was a great night and Tina looked wonderful in all the ballets, especially the Tchaikovsky pdd: stunning. And I loved the Lubovitch piece. It's good to see women dancers out of pointe shoes sometimes: you can get past the balances and turns and just concentrate on the beauty of their movement. Yes, Tina can do the technical stuff, no problem, but what a beautiful dancer she is. Many thanks for all the pleasure she has given in the past, and best of luck to her in the future.

Sounds like a lot to cover in an hour.

In the San Francisco Bay Area: Channels and Airdates: KQED 9HD Sun, May 24, 2009 -- 12:00 pm KQED Life Thu, May 21, 2009 -- 8:00 pm Fri, May 22, 2009 -- 2:00 am

I’d thought SFB’s ‘Jewels’ was pretty much a closed issue by now at the end of the season, but I have one more word to say about today’s (May 9) performance of Rubies: electrifying. Lorena Feijoo and Davit Karapetyan caught the rhythms of the music and each other to perfection. Feijoo sizzled; she was funny, sexy, glamorous, teasing, you name it. Karapetyan followed her around like a puppy, lapping it up. They were terrific. And then there’s Jennifer Stahl. Last Saturday, when Rubies was substituted for Russian Seasons in Program 8, Stahl made her Tall Girl debut. Over on the Program 8 thread, I had commented that Stahl danced nicely enough but without much pizzazz, and frankly, I wasn't much looking forward to seeing her this week. Well, I don’t know what happened since last Saturday, but this Saturday she was sensational. Between Feijoo and Stahl, I’m pretty sure the temperature of the Opera House went up a couple of degrees. Great show.

I very much agree about Clara Blanco. Last December, she danced a very nice, if rather small-scaled Nutcracker GPdD: very clean and almost academic, but with great charm (those dimples!). Then this season, she knocked me out with a passionate and riveting Nora (I think that was the one) in Ibsen's House. For somebody who looks like a kewpie doll, she can pour on the drama when she needs to. And you're right: she really held her own with Tan and Zahorian (and Frances Chung) in Fusion. I haven't picked Ashley Muangmaithong out yet, but I'll watch for her. Peggy

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet is to perform at Zellerbach. Here's the link. Note that on Oct. 24, Farrell will provide onstage narration for the program The Balanchine Couple.

Disappointing to miss out Russian Seasons at Saturday's matinee (May 2), but fortunately it's to be repeated in the 2010 season. And best wishes for a speedy recovery to whoever is ill. Despite being technically well danced by Maria Kochetkova and Taras Domitro, Rubies (substituting for Russian Seasons) never quite caught fire for me. She did all the head tilts and hip swings, but her slight air of Russian melancholy worked against the ballet's American cheeriness. Domitro's brashness was a better fit, but there were times when he and Kochetkova seemed to be dancing at instead of with each other. I'll be seeing both Jewels this coming Saturday and Sunday; I hope she dances Emeralds at one of them. Jennifer Stahl, in her debut as the tall girl, danced well and threw her legs about with great abandon, but lacked Elana Altman's authority. Where Altman was leader of the pack, Stahl tended to fade into the corps. Still, a promising start. In an overall excellent performance of Possokhov's Fusion, Daniel Deivison stood out for how beautifully he uses his upper body.

Just goes to show the French do everything with style. If you're going to be a fish farmer, be a fish farmer at the Paris Opera!

Um...why are there fish living in the theater? (Sorry, but my high school French gave up after 'tutu'.)

My only reference points for Jewels are the excerpts on Choreography by Balanchine and POB DVDs; this is the first time I've seen the entire ballet on stage. 'Dramatic' doesn't begin to describe what Feijoo did. This wasn't a flirty girl, but a mature woman, maybe toying a little with a younger man, enjoying his attention but very much her own woman: he'll be history when she's through with him. I'm not surprised to hear that her interpretation is unusual, but it more than worked for me. SFB's performance of Rubies left me wondering if POB and SFB were dancing the same ballet: 'chic' vs. 'street', and street is a lot more fun. Altman took charge to the point that I thought Vanessa Zahorian became the secondary female, and that threw the balance off a little. On the other hand, Pascal Molat zipped through with likable verve; at one point he exited the stage turning so fast the audience gasped. No argument there. Despite a fine Myrtha last year, her subsequent performances have left me wondering why she is so highly regarded: capable but not special. Last night Sylve put those doubts to rest; not just flawless but, I suspect, the embodiment of everything Balanchine was trying to say about classical ballet. Hands off please; she's ours and we're keeping her .

Here's a link to the Program Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreographer: George Balanchine TINA LeBLANC and GONZALO GARCIA* "My Funny Valentine" (from ...smile with my heart) Composer: Marvin Laird after Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart Choreographer: Lar Lubovitch TINA LeBLANC and GRIFF BRAUN** INTERMISSION Pas de deux from Sonata Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson TINA LeBLANC and RUBEN MARTIN Pas de deux and finale from Theme & Variations Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreographer: George Balanchine TINA LeBLANC and DAVIT KARAPETYAN with Artists of the Company * Guest artist - appears courtesy of New York City Ballet - Peter Martins, Ballet Master In Chief ** Guest artist

Although I've only seen her on the Bringing Back Balanchine DVD, I was particularly impressed by her mature response to the Serenade incident. She seems like an uncommonly intelligent and thoughtful young woman. My best wishes to her.

Here are six lengthy YouTube clips of Delgado (who looks about 10 years old) and Gili rehearsing Giselle, Act 1. To us nonprofessionals, it's fascinating to watch the process of creating a character; you can see Giselle despite the grungy rehearsal clothes and plastic lawn chair.

Link to additional casts: Program 8 Program 8 Opening Night Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 8pm FUSION Choreographer: Yuri Possokhov Conductor: David Briskin Piano: Natal'ya Feygina, Michael McGraw Saxaphone: Dale Wolford Lorena Feijoo, Hansuke Yamamoto Maria Kochetkova, James Sofranko Frances Chung, Garen Scribner Yuan Yuan Tan, Damian Smith INTERMISSION RUSSIAN SEASONS Choreographer: Alexei Ratmansky Conductor: David Briskin Violin: Roy Malan Soprano: Susana Poretsky Orange/White: Yuan Yuan Tan*, Damian Smith* Red: Sofiane Sylve, Pierre-Francois Vilanoba Green: Lorena Feijoo*, Ruben Martin* Blue: Vanessa Zahorian*, Pascal Molat* Violet: Maria Kochetkova*, Isaac Hernandez* Purple: Elizabeth Miner*, Hansuke Yamamoto* INTERMISSION DOUBLE EVIL Choreographer: Jorma Elo Conductor: David Briskin Timpani: Jason Goodman, John Burgardt Violin: Roy Malan Elana Altman, Pierre-Francois Vilanoba Sarah Van Patten, Garen Scribner Vanessa Zahorian, Pascal Molat Pauli Magierek, James Sofranko * Denotes premiere in role.

Helene: I had exactly the same reactions, especially about Feijoo: in 4Ts she looked oddly out of place, but of course Emeralds is a very different style, and she certainly won't be less than interesting. I'm curious about Elana Altman. As much as I admire her, as a dancer she's very...'contained' is the best word I can think of. It will be interesting to see if she can let loose in the 'tall girl' variation and bring out the sassy humor. I'm going Saturday night, and then again on May 9 and 10, so I'm hoping to catch the second cast too.

Here's the link for upcoming cast information: Jewels Casts for the first two performances are posted: Program 7 - Jewels/Balanchine Program 7 Opening Night Saturday, April 25, 2009, 8pm "EMERALDS" Conductor: Martin West Lorena Feijoo, Ruben Martin* Yuan Yuan Tan, Damian Smith Frances Chung*, Hansuke Yamamoto, Dana Genshaft* INTERMISSION "RUBIES" Conductor: Martin West Piano: Michael McGraw Vanessa Zahorian, Pascal Molat* Elana Altman INTERMISSION "DIAMONDS" Conductor: Martin West Sofiane Sylve, Pierre-Francois Vilanoba* Program 7 Matinee Sunday, April 26, 2009, 2pm "EMERALDS" Conductor: Martin West Maria Kochetkova*, Nicolas Blanc* Frances Chung*, Isaac Hernandez* Dores Andre*, Taras Domitro*, Charlene Cohen* INTERMISSION "RUBIES" Conductor: Martin West Piano: Michael McGraw Tina LeBlanc, Joan Boada Sofiane Sylve INTERMISSION "DIAMONDS" Conductor: Martin West Sarah Van Patten, Ruben Martin

I need some advice from veteran PNB watchers. I'm planning a weekend trip to Seattle for the 2010 PNB season (have to start planning now since it will take me a full year to work up the nerve to get into an airplane ). These are the programs I'm interested in: 3 - Sleeping Beauty, 5 - All Balanchine, or 6 - Coppelia. Based on comments above, Coppelia is the front runner, but I'm open to suggestions. Thanks. Peggy

Me too! This is my first time seeing the Bolshoi live since I was a teenager in the early 60s, so I'm very excited. Even more exciting is the prospect of seeing Alexandrova; I've been checking out her YouTube clips and she certainly looks interesting; let's hope she doesn't get moved to an evening performance. Somebody have pity on us poor matinee goers BTW, is it safe to assume that ZA doesn't have room for a ramp for the Shades scene?

Thanks for the heads up, Globetrotter. I haven't gotten it yet. Looks like an interesting season, but there are an awful lot of repeats from this year. No surprise about Swan Lake, which, by all accounts, really raked in the money. I can see my budget being shredded once again: at least three or four each of Swan Lake and Program 3 and R&J...