volcanohunter

The ABC crime drama Forever has filmed a ballet-themed episode titled "Best Foot Forward." It sounds a little Black Swan. The program will air in Canada on Monday, April 6 (CTV) and in the U.S. on Tuesday, April 7.

Another from The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11504396/Mary-Clarke-dance-critic-obituary.html

If you prefer a hard-copy version, the DVD and Blu-ray will be released by Opus Arte on April 28 in North America. It's available in the UK as of today.

That's interesting because previously the ballet director was Aidar Akhmetov, a Moscow-trained dancer who spent a good chunk of his performing career in Canada; I remember his Prodigal Son, for example. As far as I can remember, he had no connection to the Mariinsky. I wonder whether former Bolshoi principal Vladimir Neporozhny is still general director of the theater. A news search pulls up nothing recent.

An obituary by Jonathan Gray with a comment from Judith Mackrell http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/mar/30/mary-clarke

Was it really so bad?

She is already a full-time member of the National Ballet of Canada and performed with them in New York last autumn in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. http://national.ballet.ca/Meet/On-Stage/Principals/Svetlana-Lunkina

Is this the film that is also called Mia: A Dancer's Journey? I noticed that the PBS affiliates I get are airing it today, though they seem to be at the back end, and many showings have already passed. http://www.pbssocal.org/tv/nationalproductions/mia/

There is a £2 fee if a ticket is re-sold, and you can lose a small amount of money when the refund is processed through your credit card, since card exchange rates are not the same as a bank's, but these are tiny inconveniences in comparison to being stuck with an expensive ticket you don't want or can't use. It's also a much better deal for the person buying the returned ticket, who would otherwise probably have to pay much more to buy through a re-sale site. So yes, I'm all for it, too. http://www.roh.org.uk/visit/tickets#re-sale

Yes, it's entirely possible this version by Peterson may be different from the one I saw three years ago, although the PR for that production also touted his commitment to history. The bit about the "damaged icon" was present then, too. Based on what I saw, Peterson’s desire for preservation is not universal. Evidently, whatever he considers unessential is open to being re-choreographed, which Washington Ballet acknowledged in the link Helene provided. But we'll know soon enough what the production is like. I hope you will be spared that third-act quartet of roughhousing young men.

I have seen Peterson's Swan Lake, and it is decidedly not a reconstruction. That is made clear in the linked piece. I can't speak definitively about stylistic consistency, but said pas de trois in Act 3 was quite hokey. There was also an exceedingly stupid dance for four men that bordered on the typical shenanigans of the mercifully absent jester and a somewhat awkward "melancholy" solo for Siegfried at the end of Act 1, which is practically obligatory these days. From his program notes: Peterson admits that his focus is on the "surviving nucleus": the Ivanov acts. The rest he felt free to change--and did. At best he restores some favorite details of his, but the 1895 production it's not, nor is it anything like what Ratmansky did with Paquita or Sleeping Beauty. It's not terrible (except, perhaps, Act 3), but it's also not exceptional.

The RB forum anxiously awaits your assessment. (I've sworn off throwing fire bombs for Lent, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading them. )

Obraztsova has yet to dance Grigorovich's Swan Lake. Of course it's possible that one day the Bolshoi will relent and cast her in it, but thus far she hasn't appeared in the production.

Yes, I'd think that when they see the director and a microphone, they'd suspect an announcement was imminent. Nowadays the POB also puts a cameraman in the wings to capture the event, which would be another tip-off. In recent years the dancer being promoted had almost always been paired with an existing étoile. Theoretically, this time the promotion could also have been Audric Bezard's, but they both appeared certain that it was hers.

These two stories happen to have appeared within the past couple of days. I suppose I have a love-hate relationship with La Bayadère, too. Sashimani Devi, Last of India’s Jagannath Temple Dancers, Dies at 92 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/world/asia/sashimani-devi-last-of-indias-jagannath-temple-ritual-dancers-dies-at-92.html Shobana Jeyasingh: my love-hate relationship with La Bayadère http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/mar/24/shobana-jeyasingh-bayadere-the-ninth-life-contemporary-dance

The announcement is made by the Paris Opera's director, since it's the director's prerogative to "make" étioiles, at the recommendation of the ballet AD. The Paris Opera has posted video. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kggz3_laura-hecquet-nommee-danseuse-etoile-de-l-opera-national-de-paris_creation

There are reports today that critic Mary Clarke has died. May she rest in peace. http://dancing-times.co.uk/news/item/1750-mary_clarke_1923_2015

I have always wondered about the fate of the sets and costumes from this production. David Walker's designs from the 1970s are still in circulation, currently owned by Boston Ballet, I believe. Whatever became of Luisa Spinatelli's designs? No doubt they cost a small fortune, and I presume they didn't suffer all that much wear and tear during the mere 12 months they were in use.

It's the English-language mirror that got lost in the shuffle. The French side is more or less up-to-date and reflects the fact that Arthur Raveau now goes by Artur Allard. (So there was another tweak.) I have a feeling the web site will be completely overhauled for the next season, so the webmasters are no longer bothering to perfect the current one.

In 2003 Natalia Makarova staged an extremely short-lived production of The Sleeping Beauty for the Royal Ballet.

Anecdotally, I can tell you that my local company has a fairly high percentage of East Asian dancers; they make up about a quarter of the roster. However, only one of them is a member of the diaspora. The remainder are natives of Asia, primarily Japan. Looking superficially at the rosters of other North American companies, I don't think their situation is that different.

The Lise in the last broadcast of Fille in 2012 was Roberta Marquez. She and McRae also appeared together in a broadcast of The Nutcracker the same year. These were some intermission features from that broadcast.

Today is the 100th birthday of Patricia Morison, for my money, the most beautiful Shrew of all. Here is an interview with her shot two years ago.

I know part of ABT's audience is keeping an eye on Smirnova's condition, so I'll note that the Bolshoi has published casting for April, and there is still neither hide nor hair of her. It will have been nine months since she last performed with the company.

Predictably, Ivan the Terrible is scheduled to star Mikhail Lobukhin, Anna Nikulina and Denis Rodkin. http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/576/roles/#20150419180000 I realize this is a moot point for audiences in the United States, since it won't be screened there, but in truth they won't be missing anything.