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Behind-the-scenes goodies on the broadcast of Raymonda http://culturebox.france3.fr/raymonda

The matter of producing DVDs is still closely tied to the issue of television broadcasts. To date the POB and the RB haven't issued any recent performances that weren't taped for television first. As long as PBS limits itself to a single ballet broadcast per year, which will be the San Francisco Ballet this Christmas, you won't get more than a single DVD out of the bargain. And to further complicate things, PBS often relies on foreign broadcasters to help do its work, hence Jewels from the Paris Opera aired under the "Dance in America" banner. The "Dance in America" series also showcases other forms on dance, leading to a very paltry presence for ballet. DEMCAD may not like my opinion, but relatively speaking I think that ABT is overrepresented on PBS. When was the last time you saw PNB, Miami City Ballet, Houston Ballet or Boston Ballet on "Great Performances"? It's supposed to be "Dance in America," not "Dance in New York." The fact that PBS tapes ABT performances in D.C. or Costa Mesa is a cosmetic fudge. The Metropolitan Opera managed to circumvent the problem of reduced PBS broadcasts by going directly into movie theatres. I don't know who pays the production costs of those simulcasts, but PBS has certainly been happy to air the programs subsequently. Strangely enough, there are now more Met broadcasts on PBS than ever before, and these broadcasts are making their way to DVD. Potentially, ballet companies could do the same. Unfortunately, the Met broadcasts have been so successful, that no one else can elbow their way in. Between the live broadcasts and their repeat showings, most weekends are already booked. Still, the fact that ABT's Met season starts after the opera season's finished creates a window of opportunity, if movie theatres could be convinced that there's an audience for ballet out there, and I'm not sure that's the case. For two seasons now, primarily during the Met's hiatus, one of the movie chains in Canada has been showing opera and ballet performances from the Opus Arte catalogue of (mostly) future releases, predominantly from the Royal Opera in London. What's telling is that while the opera screenings are shown on both Saturdays and Sundays, the ballet screenings show on Saturdays only, suggesting that their audience is smaller. Given that track record, I don't know that movie theatres would be willing to take a chance on live ABT broadcasts from the Met, much less live NYCB broadcasts from the State Theater or any other American ballet company.

Here's revisionism for you: a report from French television on The Nutcracker as performed by the National Circus of China. http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/culture/musique/0,...-noisette-.html

Milwaukee Ballet is offering discounted children's tickets for about half of its performances, which would imply that ticket sales for those shows are slow. http://www.milwaukeeballet.org/nutcracker08.html

The Paris Opera has posted an excerpt with Gillot and Martinez on its web site. Judging by this, I'm glad that this cast is being filmed, because what's lacking on DVD is a great Jean de Brienne, and Martinez may be it. http://www.operadeparis.fr/Saison-2008-200...768&IdS=549

Yesterday the POB opened its all-Béjart program and France 2 news is already reporting on it today. Nice turnover. The report includes comments from Jérémie Bélingard and Benjamin Pech. Skip ahead to 32 minutes past the hour. The menu on the right doesn't seem to be synchronized correctly, so click on the preceding segment. http://jt.france2.fr/player/20h/index-fr.php?jt=20081210 Or, since these clips tend to disappear after a week, try this link.

In the early 1990s I saw the Ballett des Gärtnerplatzes perform a version, but it was more Tanztheater than ballet. You'd think I'd be able to remember the choreographer, but I can't, nor can I find the program. John Neumeier choreographed a full-length Peer Gynt, but it's set to a score by Alfred Schnittke.

As I recall, those of us who saw this performance in cinemas last year were similarly surprised. I wonder whether the set loses something in translation to a two-dimensional screen. Having seen the performance on both movie and TV screen, I've reconciled myself to the set because the quality of the dancing compensates for it. But that's multiple viewings talking.

TFO, Ontario's French-language educational network, will broadcast La Sylphide on Sunday, December 21, at 8:00 p.m. ET. No further details are available at the moment, but since this time slot is generally devoted to performing arts programming from French television, I'm going to assume it's the POB production of Lacotte's staging with Aurélie Dupont and Mathieu Ganio. If I see a spot to the contrary, I'll be sure to post a correction. http://www.tfo.org

Yes, the documentary is fascinating, and Anastasia Yatsenko in particular dances beautifully. But, oh my, the portrait of Nikolai Tsiskaridze that emerges is not flattering. Most of all I was happy that a complete performances of Misericordes was included. Much as I love dance documentaries, my greatest frustration is not being able to see ballets in their entirety, so thanks to the makers for showing us the finished product.

If this has already been mentioned elsewhere, my apologies. Jerome Robbins will finally get the Amercian Masters treatment on Wednesday, February 18, 2009. http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/pdf/am/j...romeRobbins.pdf http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/pdf/am/j...utTheArtist.pdf http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/photo.php?get=3137

Here's a report on the current run of Raymonda from France 2 evening news. Skip ahead to 33 minutes past the hour. There are brief comments from Marie-Agnès Gillot and Nicolas Le Riche. I understand that the Gillot/Martinez/Le Riche cast is going to be filmed for television. http://jt.france2.fr/player/20h/index-fr.p...;timeStamp=1978 These are the bits that are always edited out of the 30-minute newscasts I get on TV5 in my neck of the woods. Also, a report from TF1: http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/culture/0,,4183720...-de-paris-.html P.S. Because the ostrich-feather thing never gets old, here's an interview with Zizi Jeanmaire that aired yesterday: http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/culture/musique/0,...souvenirs-.html

WNET has all the answers. Here is a detailed cast list for the performance. http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/release.php?get=3041 Photos of the production: http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/photo.php?get=3043

That's not fair, Marc. I didn't say that I reacted to every one of her roles that way. I don't find her Odette-Odile nearly as objectionable. Yes, I have seen her subsequently, and yes, I still think she's tacky. I was simply stating that my first exposure to her Giselle filled me with a revulsion quite unlike any I'd experienced as a ballet viewer.

I still do. So do I. The first time I saw a clip of her Giselle I was momentarily tempted to put my eyes out (but thought better of it and turned the video off instead).

Alberta Ballet premiered its new Nutcracker in British Columbia's capital last weekend, and the presenter, Dance Victoria, is reporting its greatest-ever box office success. Presumably the bases for comparison are the National Ballet of Canada's biennial tours, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's annual tours and performances by Ballet BC. A reprint from the relevant article in the Victoria Times Colonist: http://www.albertaballet.com/news/press-re...victoria-series Alberta Ballet has spent a lot of money on this production, so I hope it works out for them. P.S. Sales in Calgary are going so well that an extra show has been added. If the company believes it can sell 2,400 more tickets, good for them. http://www.albertaballet.com/news/press-re...show-in-calgary

Here are trailers to the two Nutcrackers that will be screening at Canadian cinemas on Saturday, December 13. National Ballet of Canada, choreography by James Kudelka, at Cineplex-Odeon theatres, 2:00 p.m. ET. http://www.cineplex.com/Movies/MovieDetail...e_Noisette.aspx Accoring to the National Ballet's web site, the scheduled cast is to feature Sonia Rodriguez as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Piotr Stanczyk as Peter/The Nutcracker, Xiao Nan Yu as the Snow Queen, Noah Long and Aarik Wells as her Icicles, Lorna Geddes as Baba and Kevin D. Bowles as Uncle Nikolai. San Francisco Ballet, choreography by Helgi Tomasson, primarily at Empire Theatres, mostly at 1:00 p.m. local time. http://centralsystem.digiscreen.ca/ShowPag...resentation=232 last year's trailer: http://www.digiscreen.ca/nutcracker/digiscreen.html The cast features Damian Smith as Drosselmeyer, Elizabeth Powell as Clara, Maria Kochetkova as Clara in the grand pas de deux, Davit Karapetyan as the Nutcracker Prince, David Arce as the Mouse King, Yuan Yuan Tan as the Snow Queen, Pierre-François Vilanoba as the Snow King, Vanessa Zahorian as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Sarah Van Patten as the Genie, Nicolas Blanc in the Chinese dance and Pascal Molat as the lead Russian dancer.

While it lasts. The following dance DVDs are presently on sale at Amazon.com. ABT's Swan Lake is available for $11.49, a discount of 54%. Enter the ASIN into the Amazon search box at the top of the page: B000AYEI9A The Powell/Pressburger Tales of Hoffmann is selling for $22.99, a discount of 42%. ASIN: B00008YOFG The Red Shoes is selling at $24.99, a discount of 37%. ASIN: B00000IPHT Martha Graham: Dance on Film is available for $23.49, a discount of 41%. ASIN: B000SFJ4L8 Fosse is selling for $10.49, a discount of 58%. ASIN: B00005UQ8F

I apologize for the short notice. Nutcracker: The Motion Picture returns to Sun TV on Wednesday, December 3, at 8:00 p.m. ET. It will also play on Christmas Day at 10:00 p.m. ET. http://suntv.canoe.ca/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?...&tz=evening

Canada's Bravo network will air Strictly Bolshoi on Saturday, December 6, at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT. www.bravo.ca

Yes, you have your choice of English, German, Spanish or Italian subtitles.

Sorry for the confusion. The principals are listed in the first entry. Your explanation makes sense. I wonder who the fifth dancer in the Spanish dance is then. For that matter, I wonder who danced the Bear.

The National Ballet has lost quite a lot of money on the stock market, though its Nutcracker ticket sales are good. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/Entertainment Let me reiterate that beaming ballet into Canadian cinemas is a wonderful idea, particularly since the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation lost interest in the performing arts a long time ago, cutting back broadcasts year after year until nothing was left. It's the choice of repertoire and the timing of the showings that I question. In the National Ballet's defence I will say that most available Saturday afternoons have been taken over by live Met broadcasts or their repeat showings, so you could blame the Metropolitan Opera's success for the National Ballet's limited access to movie screens. Under the circumstances, it may well be that the NBoC won't be able to broadcast anything other than The Nutcracker, which isn't exactly what I hoped the new digital entertainment universe would bring, which won't do anything to alleviate the resentment of other companies, and which is likely to bring diminished returns over time as the production becomes overly familiar. Speaking strictly as a ballet fan, it irritates me to be forced to choose between simultaneous broadcasts and performances of The Nutcracker. Ideally I would like to have the opportunity to see them all, and for this reason alone I'd wish for better coordination. I don't think the Canadian ballet audience is large enough to sustain the present level of competition. Perhaps it's time to consider Sunday matinees? For one thing the bunheads are less likely to be in class, boosting the potential audience pool.

TFO, Ontario's French-language educational network, will broadcast the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Le Tour du monde en 80 minutes on Sunday, December 14, at 8:00 p.m. ET. http://www.tfo.org/television/emissions/se...26&c=45ABF0 The program, described as Béjart's last work, is more like a greatest hits collection, is not yet available in North America, though it hit the French market this month. http://www.alapage.com/-/Fiche/DVDVideo/99...-80-minutes.htm

Recently the National Ballet of Canada announced that, as last year, it will beam its production of The Nutcracker live into movie theatres (of the Cineplex-Odeon persuasion). Last year this decision drew protests from the artistic directors of other Canadian ballet companies, who feared that the broadcast would poach viewers from their productions. Furthermore, the Empire Theatres chain had opted to show the San Francisco Ballet's version that same afternoon, all leading to a great deal of unnecessary competition. This year the National Ballet will broadcast its Nutcracker on the afternoon of December 13. The San Francisco Nutcracker, though not a live broadcast, has been scheduled to run on the same afternoon since at least July. Both movie showings will interfere with the opening of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens' Nutcracker in Montreal, the Edmonton run of Alberta Ballet's new Nutcracker, and Ballet Jörgen's Group of Seven Nutcracker in Ottawa. What gives? I understand Empire Theatres wanting to run the SFB Nutcracker before it airs on PBS the following week. Is there any particular reason why the National Ballet of Canada chose to broadcast its version on the same day at more or less the same time? Why didn't it heed last year's plea from the ADs of other companies to broadcast something other than The Nutcracker, say, Cranko's Romeo and Juliet in March or Giselle in May? At a time when Ballet BC is struggling to survive in a hostile economic climate, do we really need these Nutcracker wars?