naomikage

No, it is not normal to do 2 in a short run. ABT does have an anniversary for Marcelo Gomes next MET season, but that is a rare opportunity. And also Sonia Rodriguez had an anniversary recently. It shows that this company's female principals are consisted of many aging ballerinas. (Rodriigeuz is of course a wonderful ballerina) It is not rational that 2 anniversary performances are done in the only 6 performances of Onegin.

Sunday matinee might not be humiliating but that performance is the end of the run (meaning they are 4th cast) and usually dancers prefer performing at nights. And also as Katherine has pointed out, conflicting with Lunkina's The Bright Stream cinema screening in Toronto is not nice for her and her fans. I am totally opposed to idea of giving opening nights & multiple performances to long-serving anniversary performances, putting artistic quality behind. Ballet companies are not caring homes for aging ballerinas. And Lunkina and McKie are not even dancing in Cinderella. The management of this company are nuts and such a shame so few appreciate having the great Svetlana Lunkina in their roster.

I just cannot accept this casting. Why do they put 2 anniversaries in a run of 6 performances, and only one performance for Svetlana Lunkina and Evan McKie, for a matinee performance at the end of the run. McKie is from the Cranko company Stuttgart Ballet and has danced Onegin all over, including Paris Opera Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Tokyo Ballet, Universal Ballet and also at the YAGP gala in NYC, and has won critical acclaim for his portrayal. Tatiana must be a special role for Lunkina who is Russian and has loved the novel, and their chemistry is proved to be magical at Romeo and Juliet by Ratmansky. (and also Jurgita Dronina deserves Tatiana, with her amazing performance in The Winter's Tale) The company's casting policy is so weird. They really think their homegrown dancers are better than the newly joined dancers with international careers?

Obituary on Figaro http://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/2016/10/19/03004-20161019ARTFIG00350-disparition-d-yvette-chauvire-etoile-absolue.php Such a great loss...

New DVD/Blu-ray of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, with the dancers of the New York City Ballet will be released on November 18, 2016 . https://www.amazon.com/Nutcracker-New-York-City-Ballet/dp/B01LP7CJOQ Starring Megan Fairchild, Joaquine de Luz, Adam Hendrickson, Colby Clark Filmed in December 2011 at the Lincoln Center, includes a bonus "Behind the Stage" .

I saw Miko Fogerty dancing in a gala in August and although her technique was brilliant and had a lovely stage presence, apparently she was out of shape. I hope she will recover from her injury and be back on stage soon.

There was a report on Italian TV yesterday that Roberto Bolle is interested in the job. He was a candidate along with Laurent Hilaire when Vaziev resigned.

No way. Look at the mess caused at Bucharest...

San Francisco Ballet Australian Ballet

The National Ballet of Canada Full stream Houston Ballet video

Royal Ballet's Full stream Australian Ballet's full stream

Detailed information including guest companies are available on the official World Ballet Day live page, you don't have to refer to dansomanie. (the administrators seems to hate to refer to other forums...) Especially the Royal Ballet Section has specific information about the rehearsals. http://worldballetday.com/ Some nice barre class videos related to World Ballet Day Live (National Ballet of Canada and Royal Ballet)

Katherine has told almost all the low points that I also find with this version. The swan choreography is awkward and I don't like the lighting in the white acts which are strangely bright. Plus the violence toward women in the first act (with a gang rape..) National Ballet of Canada now has wonderful Odettes such as Lunkina and Dronina so it is time they should replace the version. I also agree with Katherine's opinion of Neuemeier's Illusions Like Swan Lake, although not a traditional one it is very beautiful. Along with Hamburg Ballet, it had recently entered the repertoire of Munich (as it is the hometown of King Ludwig II who is the main character in this ballet), but it will no longer be performed there with the arrival of Zelensky. And also not a traditional version, but I like the Bourmeister Swan Lake (which was originated in Stanistavsky Theatre, where Zelensky also directs) which has a stunning and dramatic 3rd act. There is a DVD available because Paris Opera Ballet also used to perform it.

Currently the Teatro Alla Scala is visiting Japan with Nureyev's Don Quixote and I was happily surprised that the standard of dancing there has improved a lot and they have several good dancers (especially Nicoletta Manni) of their own, It must be because of Vaziev. But I am afraid the standard might go down as Bigonzetti has now taken over. Anyway, it would be lovely to see Ratmansky's Swan Lake. I agree Milan is not so exciting but as mentioned above, they have several wonderful museums such as Brera, Poldi Pezzoli and excellent food, and shopping. The Scala is gorgeous inside. And you can take a day trip to cities nearby. Also I would not recommend National Ballet of Canada's Kudelka Swan Lake because the second act is so ugly and the whole piece is misogynistic. (of course it would be wonderful to see Svetlana Lunkina as Odette/Odile, but)

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/16/arts/dance/diana-vishneva-to-leave-american-ballet-theater-in-june.html

Daniil Simkin is guesting in Tokyo Ballet's Nutcracker, December 16th & 18th. http://www.nbs.or.jp/stages/2016/nuts/index.html

Press release DIANA VISHNEVA TO GIVE FINAL PERFORMANCES WITH ABT Farewell Performance Scheduled for Friday Evening, June 23 at Metropolitan Opera House http://www.abt.org/insideabt/news_display.asp?News_ID=560

Yulia has been promoted principal. Congratulations. http://www.bolshoi.ru/about/press/articles/congratulations/

Here is the official announcement. http://www.bolshoi.ru/about/press/articles/congratulations/ Most of people here must be aware but Kamil Yangurazov is Stepanova's husband.

I didn't go to this performance (as I don't live there) so I can't really judge but 2 of my friends had seen it on separate occasions. One is a regular goer (subscriber) who lives in Toronto, and another also sees ballet quite a lot but lives in Tokyo and first time seeing National Ballet (they also practice ballet as a hobby). And they both seemed to enjoy the performance very much and liked the performance and choreography very much. (one who lives there hated Le Petit Prince, by the way...) Many performances don't have a unanimous response and at least some of the audience received it positively. I do hear from professionals that Robert Binet is very young but a talent to watch out for.

Review by Philippe Noisette on Les Echos http://www.lesechos.fr/week-end/culture/spectacles/0211265183889-alexei-ratmansky-reveille-la-belle-au-bois-dormant-2025757.php Le Monde (Rosita Boisseau) http://www.lemonde.fr/scenes/article/2016/09/07/alexei-ratmansky-sur-les-traces-de-marius-petipa_4993700_1654999.html Danser Canal Historique http://www.dansercanalhistorique.fr/?q=content/la-belle-au-bois-dormant-d-alexei-ratmansky-par-l-abt Julie Briand ( Humanity ) http://www.humanite.fr/la-belle-pris-un-coup-de-vieux-615012 FT (Laura Capelle) in English but a French critic https://www.ft.com/content/0e06fd58-7358-11e6-bf48-b372cdb1043a Dance Tabs (Jann Parry)-not a French critic but just in case http://dancetabs.com/2016/09/american-ballet-theatre-sleeping-beauty-paris/ Plus a feature on Alexandre Hammoudi http://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/2016/09/06/03004-20160906ARTFIG00076-alexandre-hammadi-le-francais-de-l-american-ballet-theatre.php

Haruo Niyama, winner of Prix de Lausanne and gold medalist at YAGP 2014, graduate of SFB school has joined the studio company. He is short in statue but a very talented dancer. https://www.washingtonballet.org/studio-company-dancers/haruo-niyama

The current Don Quixote at Bolshoi, they have mounted a new production by Alexei Fadeyechev last season and it is far from their best production IMHO (it was shown in cinemas) http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/41494-bolshoi-2016-london-tour/ See this thread of Bolshoi London tour (volcanohunter's entry) and you might understand why. I think Taming of the Shrew is a much better choice, this work is fun, sexy and stylish, and showing the great qualities of the Bolshoi dancers (I saw it live at the Dance Open Festival in St Petersburg last year) . We in Japan will have Bolshoi next June but not thrilled with Grigrovich's Swan Lake and Giselle and envy NYC having Taming. (well, we have Flames of Paris which is a consolation)

This video of Eva Evdokimova and Peter Schaufuss in La Sylphide might be of better quality (with a short interview). From World Ballet Festival in Tokyo, 1985

Thank you! This variation is unique and I wish I could see this live.