Figurante

I am assuming you saw Neil Marshall as "Elegie Boy" not Dark Angel (who is a woman) as you had referred to him. I understand there was a discrepancy earlier in this thread as to the correct name for this role. Neil Marshall joined MCB this season from Pennsylvania Ballet. He also danced with Suzanne Farrell Ballet. I was excited to hear of his opportunity in Serenade this season after the programming was changed, though I was dismayed I could not see it in person. He has a lot of experience, and surely has a lot to offer to the company. And what did you think of his performance?

This subject can basically be applied to any rank in a company. Promotions aren't just based on talent. Age is a determining factor, as well as sponsors for specific dancers, financial stability in the company, the dancer's work ethic/attitude, seniority, and how well the dancer's respond to given opportunity, among other things. I know in a few companies, corps de ballet members will get promoted to soloist after serving seven years. Corps de ballet members can also be promoted to say, 5th year corps. This would go unnoticed to everyone because their actual rank hasn't changed, but their salary has. Slightly off-topic.... This subject is also being applied to second company/trainee members, apprentices and new dancers in many companies. For some dancer's it takes up to five years before you even get INTO first year corps de ballet. A lot of companies are now making dancer's who are under contract beneath the rank of corps de ballet complete two years of each rank before reaching corps de ballet. It makes me wonder about the integrity of the companies in the respect of cheap labor/saving money. In most companies like this, second company members/trainees, apprentices, and new dancers are used as full corps de ballet members in all productions for a total of five years. Why such a lengthly term of servitude?! In personal experience, I don't think age is the number one reason. Some companies even have 25-27 year old apprentices! It's hard in situations like this to wonder where your career may be going. Especially since the dancer's career lifespan ends somewhere close to 35/40.

I am a little worried about how Cinderella will fare. I have not seen the version, but after Stevenson's Dracula this season, I am hoping for something a little less theactrical and more choreographically convincing/less awkward.

I really think this is great. There are interviews with dancers, Peter Martins, and little clips from performance and rehearsals, which I replay over and over until I am blue in the face. It is a great idea. Too bad more companies can't do the same type of thing because of budgets...

Oh, this is terrible.

I would just like to add, that if there are any Balanchine fans in the Philadelphia area, you should definitely come see Messiah before Sunday! After seeing numerous run throughs and dress rehearsals, I can only attest that any Balanchine-goer, would adore Weiss' choreography. The live choir and orchestra really makes the entire performance come together. Bring your chair pad though. The performance IS rather lengthly, but entirely worth it! Hope to see you!

Push Comes to Shove really IS a fabulous ballet! It is full of humor and nuances, and I think Pennsylvania Ballet has the right group of personalities to make it a success.... I had the opportunity to dance it a few seasons ago with another company, and it was received incredibly well! There are so many things going on in each section of the ballet, it is almost as if you don't know where to look. I personally feel it is exactly that, which makes it so interesting. It takes incredible stamina to get through the ballet. Especially for the principal man. It will definitely be a satisfying challenge for any undertakers! As far as La Sylphide, I have heard who may be staging it, and it would be AMAZING!!!!!, but since nothing is in print, my lips are defaultly bound. There are so many ballet's that I am excited about. Kazimir Colours being one of them. I had the opportunity to see Zurich Ballet perform the work, and it was incredibly captivating. Especially since the other two bills on the program were Concerto Barocco and Apollo, and, sadly, were staged, and danced completely ineffectively and wrong. I almost fell out of my chair out of grief. I was sitting next to a founding member of PNB, and she and I exchanged 'ho-hums' and gasps from so many discrepancies! In any rate, from what I remember of Kazimir Colours it is more contemporary with really interesting, colorful costumes and was refreshing after my almost heart-attack. I am always a fan of Nine Sinatra Songs even though some view it as slightly campy. It's a great bill for the age group of the Philadelphia audience. I have no doubt it will be received well. Lastly, I think it is fabulous that Pennsylvania Ballet will have the opportunity to work with Martin's in two of his ballet's for next season. It should be a great boost for the coined "baby Balanchine" company that Pennsylvania Ballet is considered! All in all, the 45th Anniversary season's repertoire is quite diverse! I think it will challenge and showcase the Pennsylvania dancers and company extremely well!

Casting is up for Robert Weiss' Messiah. Performances start tomorrow night, and end on Sunday! http://www.paballet.org/season/production....id=22&src=l

The 2008-2009 Season has been posted on the website: "Pennsylvania Ballet honors its Balanchine heritage while venturing beyond ballet boundaries in its 45th Anniversary Season with four Company premieres, two world premieres, two celebrated classics and the perennial holiday favorite, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. Full season subscriptions, which start at $95, are available by calling 215.893.1955" Balanchine and Beyond A triple-bill that includes George Balanchine’s Ballo della Regina, and the Company premieres of Mauro Bigonzetti’s Kazimir’s Colours and Twyla Tharp’s Push Comes to Shove. October 29 - November 2 at the Academy of Music George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker The quintessential holiday theatre tradition returns to the Academy of Music for its 40th Season. December 12 – December 31 at the Academy of Music Love & Longing A world premiere by innovative choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa completes this sizzling program that also includes Peter Martins’s Fearful Symmetries and Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. February 11-15 at the Merriam Theater at the University of the Arts Cinderella This rags-to-riches tale, when told through the language of ballet, will delight audiences of all ages. March 13 – March 21 at the Academy of Music Tango with Style Choreographer in Residence Matthew Neenan will unveil his 10th work for the Company on a program of premieres that includes Peter Martins’s Barber Violin Concerto and Hans van Manen’s passionate Five Tangos. May 6 – 10 at the Merriam Theater at the University of the Arts La Sylphide When a young Scottish farmer abandons his bride-to-be, his demise becomes clear to all but he. June 5 – June 13 at the Academy of Music “We’re looking forward to an exhilarating anniversary season. It’s very satisfying to perform classic works from our repertory while bringing new work by emerging international choreographers to audiences in Philadelphia,” says Artistic Director Roy Kaiser. “The artists of Pennsylvania Ballet have unique and distinct personalities, and I’m confident this season’s lineup will allow their artistry to shine through.” Balanchine & Beyond Ballo della Regina: Choreography by George Balanchine (Music: Giuseppe Verdi) Kazimir’s Colours: Choreographed by Mauro Bigonzetti (Music: Dmitri Shostakovich) COMPANY PREMIERE Push Comes to Shove: Choreographed by Twyla Tharp (Music: Joseph Haydn and Joseph Lamb, arr. David Bourne) COMPANY PREMIERE October 29 – November 2 Academy of Music Broad and Locust Streets Pennsylvania Ballet’s 45th Season begins with a pageant of pastels and precision in Balanchine’s Ballo della Regina, a 17-minute tour-de-force of virtuoso variations and ballerina bravura that merits its translation, “Dance for the Queen”. Inspired by Russian painter Kazimir Malevich and set to Shostakovich’s Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Orchestra, Mauro Bigonzetti’s Kazimir’s Colours explores the inter-relationships between joy and light, romance and lyricism, geometric forms and abstraction while adhering to classic technique. The evening is capped off with Twyla Tharp’s comedic tale of a male soloist’s struggle to navigate a world that demands structure. One of the dance arena’s most widely recognized “cross-over” ballets, Push Comes to Shove is a cornerstone piece in the Tharp canon, created for Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1976, that pushes through barriers of ballet and shoves modern dance to center stage in her signature style. The acquisition and presentation of Kazimir’s Colours is made possible in part by a grant from Dance Advance, an artistic initiative of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by the University of the Arts. George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker Choreography by George Balanchine (Music: Peter Ilyich Tschaikovsky) December 12 – 31 Academy of Music Broad and Locust Streets Pennsylvania Ballet and PNC present the perennial holiday favorite at the Academy of Music for its 40th season. A new production was unveiled last year before record-breaking audiences; hailed as “breathtakingly beautiful” by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Relive the majesty of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker this year with your family and friends. Balanchine’s masterful choreography and Tschaikovsky’s enchanting score performed by the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra with the Philadelphia Boys Choir showcases the Company at its finest. Full of freshness and draped in grandeur, this is an extravaganza not to be missed. The production’s corporate supporters include PNC Bank, Presenting Sponsor; and Chrysler Jeep, the Official Automotive Sponsor of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. Love & Longing Fearful Symmetries: Choreography by Peter Martins (Music: Samuel Barber) World Premiere: Choreography by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa Nine Sinatra Songs: Choreography by Twyla Tharp (Music: Frank Sinatra) February 11 - 15 Merriam Theater at the University of the Arts 250 S. Broad Street The perfect ballet for lovers and dreamers alike, this repertory program includes works by New York City Ballet’s Peter Martins, Twyla Tharp, and a world premiere by Belgian-born choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Set against a landscape of crimson reds and icy blues, Peter Martins’s Fearful Symmetries is a complex ballet at the head of the contemporary class. Couples create unusual shapes as John Adams’s racing score leads to a high impact ensemble finish. Annabelle Lopez Ochoa is a versatile choreographer that has created works for the Scapino Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, and the Royal Ballet of Flanders, among others, that are largely concept-driven and explore human relationships. Twyla Tharp pays tribute to legendary crooner in Nine Sinatra Songs through graceful ballroom dancing and elegant costumes created from Oscar de la Renta designs. Couples explore the complexities of relationships as they dance to timeless hits like “Strangers in the Night,” “That’s Life” and “My Way.” Cinderella Choreography by Ben Stevenson (Music: Sergei Prokofiev) March 13 - 21 Academy of Music Broad and Locust Streets The rags-to-riches tale of Cinderella has captured the hearts of children and adults for generations. A glass slipper, an opulent stagecoach, a lavish wedding and happily ever after are at the heart of this enchanted production. Gilded with Ben Stevenson’s regal choreography, featuring romantic partnering and the laugh-out-loud antics of the wicked stepsisters, Cinderella is a ballet lover’s dream come true. Exquisite costumes, spectacular sets and Sergei Prokofiev’s sumptuous score complete this charming production. Tango with Style World Premiere: Choreography by Matthew Neenan Barber Violin Concerto: Choreography by Peter Martins (Music: Samuel Barber) COMPANY PREMIERE Five Tangos: Choreography by Hans van Manen (Music: Astor Piazzolla) COMPANY PREMIERE May 6 - 10 Merriam Theater at the University of the Arts 250 S. Broad Street Choreographer in Residence Matthew Neenan creates his 10th work for the Company on a program that also includes two Company premieres. Bathed in white, two couples take the stage for an intensity-filled series of pas de deux in the Company premiere of Peter Martins’s Barber Violin Concerto. The piece embodies the lyrical movement of Samuel Barber’s inventive work that bridges from an opening adagio to its final scherzo, exploring the dichotomy between classical ballet and modern dance in three movements. Audiences will be seduced by the passion of traditional Argentinean tango when married with ballet. Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen finds a place in Pennsylvania Ballet’s repertoire with his 1977 work Five Tangos, driven by a fiery score from the master of tango nuevo Astor Piazzolla. La Sylphide Choreography after August Bournonville (Music: Herman Lovenskjold) June 5 – 13 Academy of Music Broad and Locust Streets Returning to the Academy of Music stage after a 21-year absence for a special 45th season finale is La Sylphide, widely recognized as the oldest ballet in existence. With its blend of charm, infatuation, ethereal delights and a dash of comic relief, La Sylphide ushered in the reign of the romantic ballet. When a young Scottish farmer abandons his bride-to-be for a beautiful winged creature, he offends not only the wedding party, but also the witch who heralds his demise. Bournonville’s ambitious choreography demands prolonged pointe work and exudes the innocence of youth. Yet, for all its technical influence and thematic whimsy, La Sylphide cautions that the grass isn’t always greener. 2008 – 2009 Season Subscriptions are available by calling 215.893.1955. Full season subscription prices range from $95 to $515. Subscribers receive many benefits over single ticket purchasers including a 20% discount, priority seating, convenient partial payment plan, easy ticket exchanges, discounts to fine restaurants and other area cultural institutions, advance ticket purchasing for Pennsylvania Ballet also offers a Family Matinee Series which includes a free Family Day event on the day of the show. Family Day is a fun-filled celebration featuring entertainment, games and craft activities, as well as autograph opportunities with some of the featured dancers. The Family Matinee Series performances this season are as follows: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker on Saturday, December 13, Cinderella on Saturday, March 14 and La Sylphide on Saturday, June 6. Pennsylvania Ballet’s 2008-2009 season sponsors include The Sporting Club at the Bellevue and 10 Arts by Eric Ripert. Pennsylvania Ballet receives support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Founded in 1963 by Balanchine student and protégée Barbara Weisberger, Pennsylvania Ballet is one of the nation’s leading ballet companies. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the Company’s annual local season features six productions of classic favorites and new works, including the Philadelphia holiday tradition, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.

Something is wrong with my copy paste: But I would like to respond to Bart's comment: "I can understand that NYC audiences might like to compare other companies' Balanchine to their own home company's. But isn't that kind of head-to-head competition really an unnecessary risk for trhe outsider, given differences in expectations, company styles, etc., and factoring in local chauvinism? Think of the reviewers' puzzlement and even disdain when ABT brought the "Kingdom of the Shades" scene to Europe recently. There was definitely a sense that this was "coals to Newcastle." Miami City Ballet has had favorable success touring to Long Island, and SUNY Purchase. I believe their run in 2006 was reviewed in the NY Times by Gia Kourlas "At Miami City Ballet the difference in performances is palpable. Dancers, with sparkling musicality, understand the intricacies of the ballets they are dancing, as opposed to just sometimes intermittently clicking with them." and "Under the direction of Peter Martins, City Ballet has fallen victim to the survival tactic that every busy New Yorker grapples with: get the job done, then on to the next thing." Miami City Ballet's induction into NYC's City Center has been a long time coming. I have no doubts that the company and the dancers will shine in their own way up against "reknowned" City Ballet. This will be good for the New York audience as well. Perhaps they will see what integrity, time, effort, and countless rehearsal hours will do in favor for Balanchine's ballets, or any other choreographers for that matter.

MOMIX... Isn't that the dance troupe that participated in the Hanes commercial? I am remembered of some routy chainnes. Oh well. Maybe it wasn't them.

In lieu of this subject, I would like to add a little story about Suzanne Farrell's interpretation of a "nutty nutcracker" which she told all of us while I was training with her in her Cedar Island summer program almost 10 years go. She said a dancer came up to her and asked "What are you going to do for the show tonight?" Suzanne: "what do you mean?" Dancer: "You know for the nutty nutcracker!" Suzanne: (rolling eyes) "Fine, I'll do four pirouettes in the pas de deux." And of course, she did!

I can only really reply about the choreography from a corps de ballet standpoint. I have only seen the ballet on video in the attempt to learn all 52 sections in one sitting (hahah!) I suppose the items that I found most engaging in Messiah would be all of the refrences in choreography to other choreographers, especially Balanchine and Kylian. There are certain sections in Messiah that seem to be directly influenced by Balanchine's choreography. One section in particular, I believe it is entitled "Fire" or something of that sort, has an uncanny resemblence of Symphony in C's second movement. There is also a lift with the Messiah that is basically identical to the ending of Serenade with the Waltz Girl, and three Blueberries. As far as Kylian is concerned, there is a section in Messiah with a big parachute that can only remind me of Petit Mort; and this is only from the first act out of three! What I meant by religious miming is most simply put as a bunch of hand gestures portraying praying. The one thing I am worried about is if the audience is going to understand what the dancers are trying to relay through the choreography, especially in the tableaus I mentioned earlier. Every section of the ballet is telling a story, and I am unsure that the choreography has enough narration to be understood.

Messiah was choreographed by Robert Weiss, now, director of Carolina Ballet, but once director of Pennsylvania Ballet. Bringing back some history should be great! The score is to Handel's full length Messiah and there will be a full live choir on stage with the dancers. The choreography is engaging, and blends religious miming with neoclassical style. For the shorter sections in the ballet, Weiss chose to represent famous religious paintings through tableaus that the dancer's represent along with respective props. I do not know much about the costumes, other than the fact that they are simple, think Concerto Barocco-esque. It should be a beautiful ballet. I definitely think the live choir will draw the opera crowd, as well as the religious go-ers, as PA Ballet's premiere is around Easter.

So I was fortunate enough to see the show again, and saw the credits this time.. I believe the dancer was Syd Charisse... (sp). Does that sound right to anyone?

Wow! That's great!

Crosby basically narrated the entire story of The Little Match Girl. There were two little children sitting with him while he was narrating, and they would contribute an off-key tune every once in a while. The woman/girl was dancing in the background was "the little match girl", and danced the entire time, not necessarily to music, either. It honestly looked like improv in my opinion. But her technique was incredible! Knowing that Gelsey was a great turner and jumper was what made me think of her, because this dancer whipped off a triple a la seconde turn, and a few triple attitude turns if I remember correctly, and achieved extreme heights while jumping. There was a lot of miming, which was to be expected for this type of short story, but other than that, unfortunately, I tuned into the special a little too late. After the Little Match Girl bit was finished, it went into a medley of the 12 Days of Christmas with Bing, and a few others, whom I don't know. It is interesting, because today at 6:00 pm, I turned on the same channel, and saw Gelsey and Barishnikov dancing the Nutcracker with guest artists from the National Ballet of Canada. A very weird rendition in my opinion, but then again, I am used to the Balanchine version. It is such a treat to see ballet on television in general, let alone such old performances! I hope this can shed some light on something!

I was just watching a local tv channel in Philadelphia (WHyY), while nursing my three stress fractures with a pack of ice, and I stumbled across a Bing Crosby Christmas special that seemed REALLY old; it was in black and white; He was narrating the Little Match Girl story. All the while, in the background, is this incredibly talented dancer turning out of control, some of the best technique I have seen in a long while, and I'm in a present day ballet company. I want to say that it may have been Gelsey Kirkland, but I didn't see and credits, and I'm not positive. Does anyone know who the dancer was? And if this tv special can be found on a tape somewhere?

Those clips of Jewels are simply a "gem" :-)

I've been waiting to hear this news for a while now. I suppose this is a good appointment. He should have a lot to offer from his background.

It really isn't as bad as one might think. It really isn't all that slippery! You just can't wear brand new pointe shoes; then you're just asking for it! Yes, they get in your eyes, ears, eyelashes... never wear gooey lipstick, because they will stick to your lips.. I've had some fly into my mouth, and I have sure I've swallowed them as well. But it wouldn't be Nutcracker without them! There is something so magical about standing at the end of the the snow scene in Balanchine's Nutcracker in a "v" and seeing all of that snow fall as we bouree offstage. It does kind of worry me that I am ingesting fire-proofed paper though, haha!

I secretly want Ethan to be artistic director of Joffrey Ballet, since they are looking and all, and there is still no word of a new director. Perhaps just wishful thinking though.