bbfan

Oh, I wondered about that. I noticed both times Cinderella is putting on her shoe - Act I and Act III, there were people - garden fairies and officers - kneeling in front of her blocking the view of the audience - at least in the orchestra. I thought it was possible something extra was happening, given the care with which dancers put on toe shoes.....

I think you are right about the Other Stepsister - she also has the better costumes, and those glasses!

We went last night, and saw Lorna Feijoo as Cinderella, Carlos Molina as her prince. I'm not a big fan of story ballets, eyes glaze over at the possibility of having to see another Coppelia, but loved Kudelka's interpretation of Cinderella. I haven't had this much fun at a ballet since Boston did Danny Pelzig's Princes and the Pea. The audience response was enthusiastic, with much applause at the end and few people dashing out to beat the rush. Didn't have to cope with lots of small children. Did have an unusally tall guy who moved one row from the seats right in front of us (where it was easy to look around him) to a seat in the second row where his head blocked the middle of the stage. Don't know why he and his partner moved into the empty seats in front of them but.... I agree about Cinderella's understated dresses, her ball gown was too understated. But I found something amazingly appealing about men in tails with pumpkin heads! For me the comedy of the stepsisters worked. We had Sacha Wakelin as the Stepsister, and Heather Myers as the Other Stepsister (with glasses) and Myers was especially entertaining. Don't know if she had a better intrepretation or it was just my taste - I'm also not usually entralled by very broad humor but hers worked. I also agree with published reviews that the ballet is uneven, with some parts working better than others, but there was enough dancing to keep me happy. Enjoyed the pas de deux with Feijoo and Molina as well as her one-shoed dance in act III. And did you notice the 1,101 prize winning pumpkin in the lobby where there is usually a car being raffled off? We are going to see it again, don't know what casting next week, but really looking forward to i.

Sorry I didn't post a link, but it was just a few sentences in the "names" column, and today I can't access yesterday's. I have a print copy. It says Nissinen is keeping Boston Ballet's roster mostly intact. One principal, Pollyana Ribeiro who joined in 1992 will leave. Company gave no details. Balletomanes say it speaks to BB's strengths with new principals from within - Romi Beppu and Karine Seneca are being promoted from soloist to principal. I've paraphrased but this is probably copyright Boston Globe etc.

Pollyana is leaving. There was a brief blurb in the Globe today that mentioned that. I suppose that is one reason she received flowers after her performance as Princess Florine last Saturday night. I've enjoyed her also....

We saw the Saturday evening performance, and were blown away by the beauty of the production and the dancing, especially Lorna. Mom - I wonder if you sit in Orch Left close to the front? We do and the people behind us seemed to know the Cat. We enjoyed her in the role! We are also going back this coming Saturday night, and as much as we enjoyed Lorna are hoping for a different cast.

Here’s another take on the “Falling Angels” program, which I saw twice. Both nights, at first I found the Child’s piece surprisingly bland and boring. Both nights, partway through something clicked for me, and I enjoyed seeing the music in the form of dance. Then the dance stopped; both times I was startled that it just ended. My reaction the first time through Sarabande/Falling Angels was that it reminded me of my exercise class, with much fitter people participating! I was impressed by the dancers’ flexibility, coordination with each other, seeing muscles I didn’t know existed, the play of the light on the dancers, etc. But I found myself thinking, I wouldn’t mind if I never saw this again; oops, I’m going again tomorrow. The second night I knew what was coming, and enjoyed it somewhat more, though I still don’t see it as dance, more as an impressive athletic feat, a theatrical experience. I guess I didn’t connect emotionally, though I appreciate Balletaime’s comments above. Perhaps if I’d read them before seeing the performance I would have been able to bring some of that perspective. I like “In the middle….” and was glad to see it again. It left me wondering, why does this work for me when the others don’t? While I can enjoy many of the classical works, I prefer a thought provoking program to a boring program. I much prefer an evening (or two!) like Falling Angels to some of the less exciting (to me) story ballets or short classical-style pieces that we’ve had over the years. (And, sorry to say, while I don’t have gray hair, I have entered the demographic depressingly labeled as “elderly” in another thread.) I’m glad we go twice to each program for many reasons, and one is that sometimes it takes a second look to absorb and appreciate (or not) an unfamiliar work. I second Balletaime’s comment that there is no correct answer. Some works speak to us, some do not.

We haven't eaten at Pigalle; we are often hosting a group of six so tend to look for lower priced places. We've gone to the Theater Cafe in the Radisson from time to time. It varies so much, from good to awful, that lately we've avoided it. We do prefer places where we can get reservations. Now that Legal's has reservations we might try there even though it is not in the bargain category. We have had meals at McCormick & Schmick's and liked them too.

Oh, I'm glad to hear Pho Pasteur is still near the Wang, will have to try to find its address.... we often eat at Montien, like it a lot. One of our group walks really slowly so we try to get as close to the Wang as possible for meals, then we don't have to rush or start unreasonably early.... PF Changs is a chain but has some good dishes - it is really noisy though so hard to have a conversation. Haven't tried the Italian place across from the Wang.

alas, the Pho Pasteur on Stuart St closed abruptly (it seemed) last spring. One week we ate there, a couple of weeks later it was closed and being converted to an Indian restaurant. * as you read in you will find there is still a Pho Pasteur in the area, on Washington Street - hooray *

With regard to the above, it was not Clear Channel that replaced the Nutcracker with the Rockettes, it was the concern of the Wang Center management about competition from The Lion King, appearing in a Clear Channel venue (the Opera House), that caused Wang Center to book the Rockettes. In fact, Boston Ballet's Nutcracker will be performing in the Clear Channel managed Colonial Theater in 2004, and in the Opera House in 2005-2007. I don't mention this to defend Clear Channel or anyone else, just to keep things as straight as they can be in such a tangled web....

I couldn't find a reference in this topic area to the special exhibit at the Harvard Theatre Collection: George Balanchine - A Life's Journey in Ballet. It only runs until May 28 so there isn't much time left to see it. The HTC is open 1:00-4:45 Monday - Friday. The exhibit includes some fascinating letters and telegrams describing Balanchines interactions with Lincoln Kirstein, composers, dancers, and many other people as Mr. B. came to the US, developed his school and company, negotiated for music and dancers, info about the Ford Foundation grant, etc. There are also many photographs, programs and brochures, posters, and some costumes and toe shoes. It took us about an hour to go through it. It is worth the time for those in the Boston area.

That's right. Here is some info on ticket purchases from the Celebrity Series site: Brochures are in the mail to current subscribers. Others who would like a copy should call 617-482-2595; write to FleetBoston Celebrity Series, 20 Park Plaza, Suite 1032, Boston MA 02116; or visit www.celebrityseries.org Purchase Individual Tickets Individual tickets at regular box-office prices are available beginning Monday, September 13, 2004. - call CelebrityCharge at 617-482-6661 - buy individual tickets online 24-hours-a-day at www.celebrityseries.org. (Subscriptions are not currently available online.) - Tickets will also be available at most performance venues four weeks prior to the performance dates.

Um, I think you mean Boston Ballet is about to open at the Wang with Swan Lake.... I'd be surprised if the Bolshoi is not going to be at the Wang, that is the most likely venue. I think it may be part of a series of dance companies presented in Boston. I don't have time to check tonight but will look it up tomorrow.

Here is a link to Boston Ballet's site with details about the 2004-2005 season.

April Ball danced one piece in "Raw Dance", the performances choreographed by Boston Ballet dancers and presented a couple of weekends ago. Unfortuantely, the program didn't give a clue as to where she might be dancing regularly now and I didn't think to ask anyone.

According to today's article in the Herald, the Colonial has about 1700 seats, and the Opera House 2500. That makes the Opera House smaller than the Wang in terms of seating, but that might not be a bad thing for audience members - from the back/top of the balcony in the Wang the figures on the stage are pretty small. The Globe editorial and article give credit to Broadway in Boston/Clear Channel for working to provide Nutcracker a new home, so maybe they will redeem themselves. Meanwhile, I look forward to seeing what the "special edition" Nutcracker will be like, and to seeing the renovated Opera House. The Colonial has also been renovated, in 90's, so both theaters should be nice venues. Am glad that crisis has been resolved and we can think instead of the programs Boston Ballet will be presenting in mid-March.

Boston Ballet has a new home for its Nutcracker! For 2004 a "special edition" Nutcracker will be performed at the Colonial Theater. In 2005-2007 the full scale Nutcracker will be performed at the newly renovated Opera House. This was announced in a press conference with Mayor Menino this morning. You can read all about it at the ballet's site: Menino, Boston Ballet and Clear Channel Entertainment Keep 'Nutcracker' Dancing New Home Secured for Boston Ballet's Holiday Tradition

Thinking about this I'm surprised to realize my most and least favorite moments both involved Boston Ballet's Don Quixote. Don Q is not one of my favorite ballets but I felt it is better in the current production than past ones. My least favorite experience involved watching my least favorite dancer featured in Don Q. My most favorite experience involved seeing Lorna Jeijoo for the first time, as Kitri. What a wonderful dancer. And then we saw her the following week in David Dawson's The Grey Area. About as different from Don Q as you can imagine, but she was wonderful in that too. I'm really looking forward to whatever she is in next. We've been subscribers to Boston Ballet for around 30 years, and in that time have seen lots of turnover in the dancers, artistic staff, and administrative staff. There are a few dancers we saw 30 years ago who are now teaching or otherwise involved with the ballet, but on the whole the most stable part of the company has been a core of loyal audience members. I sometimes tell my friends in that group that I feel like WE are Boston Ballet, everyone else comes and goes! While it is sad to see old favorites leave, it is interesting to see the new arrivals, and on the whole the company has been improving over the years. Several dancers who were much appreciated principals and soloists years ago have told me they would not be able to reach those levels in the current company, the dancing is so much better than when they were performing.

Amy, thanks for your comments. I'm glad to hear that you liked the performance (in general) and had a good time. You are so lucky to have seen Larissa Ponomarenko as the Snow Queen. When we went we had almost all corps members dancing, only a few soloists and no principals. While it was an enjoyable performance it wasn't as thrilling as seeing some of our top dancers. I'm glad you did!

Plus $4 to park at Alewife.

I think there are so many performances of Nutcracker that the company likes to give the dancers a bit of a rest. Also, I have noticed that Nutcracker often gives dancers a change to "dance up" - that is, corps members get soloist roles, soloists get principal roles, etc. So maybe giving them that chance seems more important than having them in the corps roles only.... just my guess though.

Our current preferred parking place is at 200 Stuart St, in the Radisson Hotel. One reason we like it is that we can scoot in there before the traffic jams that tend to happen in the following blocks, at the intersection with Charles St., and along the block before the Tremont/Stuart intersection. On weekends it costs $16, though if you eat in the Theater Cafe in the hotel, parking is discounted to $5. The downside of that is the food in the Theater Cafe is not especially good. I'm not sure of the weekday rates. Anyway, from that parking garage it is about a 3 block walk to the Theater, and you'll be passing (across the street) all the restaurants mentioned above. We used to park in the Transportation Building garage that is under those restaurants but recently found it harder to get in and out. Getting in there is a security inspection that slows things down and causes a traffic jam, getting out can be extremely slow if traffic on Charles St is heavy and much of the waiting is on steep up ramps. Escaping from the Radisson garage is much easier. We saw The Nutcracker yesterday matinee, and enjoyed it - a volunteer in a bear costume was greeting the audience in the lobby and posing for pictures with youngsters, another was in a mouse costume, and all in all it was a jolly time. There was an information table on the way in where Nutcracker pins were available (free). Hope you enjoy the show and let us know how things went. I'm not sure it will be snow Thursday, I think it might be rain instead.

I remember Swan Lake Minnesota, thought it was very funny. I think we might have a tape of it, but if so we probably taped it off the broadcast, didn't purchase it. Sometimes a humorous interpretation of a classic works, and sometimes it doesn't. I thought this worked. On the other hand, I once saw an attempt at a humorous Nutcrakcer takeoff that I found offensive, though I have enjoyed Morris' Hard Nut very much. I know some ballet fans who are horrified at the concept of poking fun at the classics and won't even give them a look. So part of the enjoyment depends on your point of view.

It would be nice if it were $8 million, but I think the correct number is $3 million. Still a wonderful event!