ksk04

Well my opening cast pre-sale buy paid off! I'll be picking up tickets to Abrera/Hamoudi certainly and likely Lane/Gorak as well.

I have my Friday subscription seats, but am waiting for casting to purchase other tickets to avoid accidentally doubling up on someone. I will likely see one Cinderella too, but again...casting!

Dreamer - Raymonda single tickets went on sale today, if you are still planning on buying. Website does not yet show casting.

This is streaming on Netflix, now, for anyone who wants to watch it.

I watched it last night and I thought it was pretty boring. It seemed to simultaneously want to audience to already be "in the know" (about ballet in general or NYCB) but provided no meat for that "in the know" audience. I am not particularly interested in melancholy walks through the streets of NYC or watching someone watch choreography on their computer. Seeing Albert Evans was bittersweet and he was a high point. Someone earlier in the thread mentioned they thought Peck's corrections of Ramansar to Evans were out of line or shouldn't have been included--I thought it nicely captured the weird space for Peck, both in charge and in the corps. He has to be a little brutal with people he would be usually be reticent with. I wonder if the dancers would have had push back in the rehearsal process if he wasn't a corps dancer (I'm thinking especially when Hyltin tells him she's going to change the arm as she keeps falling over). None of this was over the top; I just wondered if it's the same if Ratmansky is standing in front of you.

I thought the costume designers seemed like idiots. It's one thing to not know much about ballet as they state, but they seemed very novice-y. I was worried when the woman came up to Peck after the dress rehearsal and was panicking about the costumes looking too busy and how it made the ballet look dis-unified: duh, you couldn't have seen that coming in advance? The choreo looked extremely busy from the little shown of Tiler Peck, so I find it weird no one thought of that beforehand.

Overall not impressive, but I think worth a stream on Netflix.

I started a new topic, "Lincoln Center at the Movies" a few hours ago with this same information. Perhaps an administrator could combine?

The "live" part is also dubious. NYCB is showing their 2011 broadcast of Nutcracker. Somebody else here said they were at an Ailey performance with signs "being recorded for broadcast." Is the SF Ballet "live" or is that a previous performance?

I'm so sorry; I didn't see it. I looked in the SF Ballet forum and here thinking they'd be the most likely places for the news. Apologies!

Here is the info for Alvin Ailey, from the Fathom events page. Maybe someone could edit the title to be more inclusive.

http://www.fathomevents.com/event/alvin-ailey-american-dance-theater

October 22, 2015. Rep includes Revelations, Chroma, Grace, Takademe

From their Facebook page:

*Just Announced* Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance presents SF Ballet's Romeo & Juliet on the big screen! We are thrilled to share this opportunity with Ballet Hispanico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and New York City Ballet. See Romeo & Juliet in a theater near you on September 24: http://bit.ly/1IH6ETf

San Francisco Ballet’s production of Romeo & Juliet is made possible by Production Sponsor First Republic Bank. Additional support is provided by The Diana Dollar Knowles Foundation and Denise Littlefield Sobel. The original production of Helgi Tomasson’s Romeo & Juliet was made possible by the E. L. Wiegand Foundation.

Not only did she dance it--internet chatter and reviews were consistently very, very good.

Copeland was a lot better (both dancing and characterization wise) than Osipova in the premiere run at SCFTA. Didn't see Boylston who was 3rd cast. Thought all of the second cast--Copeland and Cornejo and Zhurbin--were miles beyond first cast Gomes and Hallberg and Osipova (heresy, I know). Thinking about it makes me miss Messmer and Ricetto who were both the Maiden.

It just occurred to me that with the most recent round of promotions, ABT now has two locally marketable principal dancers for their LA season. Abrera, from South Pasadena, could plausibly be presented as a "hometown ballerina." Kotchetkova's repute is stronger on the West Coast than it is in NYC. Planned or coincidence?

Three. Copeland is from San Pedro.

I don't see why Kotchekova couldn't dance both Nutcrackers, unless a contractual reason prevents her. ABT will be doing it for almost 3 weeks, while SFB goes for longer. In and out--that's how it's done (not that I am encouraging this). Interestingly, I wonder how ABT's Nutcracker residence will affect local Orange County dance studio Southland Ballet's Nutcracker. They usually drum up ABT dancers to guest during it which I assume will be out--guess they will cast the net a bit wider.

STELLAAAA! Wow--never thought I would see the day.

How tall is Lendorf? I know I saw him the the Royal Danish Ballet on their visit a few years ago and got the impression he was not tall (which is not good with Part, Semionova, Murphy, etc. on the roster still)

I am not surprised by the Kotchekova addition but would have rather seen the short girl principal spot wait for Trenary or Lane or or or. I have never been sold on her on a classicist which is obviously what they need a short girl for.

I don't know when rehearsals for SFB's season begin. It may be possible for her to perform with ABT during the Fall season without interfering with her SFB schedule.

SFB doesn't perform in the Fall, but it does rehearse their Spring ballets all throughout the Fall (though I'm not sure of the start date). So the company is in residence, though not performing until Nutcracker opens. Their time off period is the summer, barring their outdoor performance Stern Grove in July (which is just one show usually).

I haven't read all the posts here to know whether this came up, but according to the 2015-2016 Dance Season Brochure for the Los Angeles Music Center, Ratmansky's Symphony No. 9 and Piano Concerto will be performed with his Firebird on July 8, 9, and 10, 2016. I've seen San Francisco Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada perform the Shostakovich ballets, so will sit through his Firebird (already saw the premiere in Orange County) just to see the other two works performed by ABT.

Interesting. We saw Chamber Symphony in LA (on an ABT bill between Apollo and Symph in C) in 2013, so I guess we will get the rest now. I would still really like to the see On the Dnieper, if they are programming an All Ratmansky bill (dreaming on...) for the west coast.

I saw Up&Down, or rather the first half of it, on Friday. I thought the portrayal of mental illness was pretty offensive (and it certainly wasn't acting as a critique of early psychoanalytic "treatments" so please don't start with that). Not surprising. People around me seemed to love it. Also not surprising. Make that the second production for Eifman for which I haven't made it to the second act. More pressing: What is Jiri Jelinek doing with this company?

Ugh. The ads. I was hoping this was going to stream on a different platform. It's just not worth it for me to pay for no ads.

I'm not getting any ads on mine and I haven't paid. I do have AdBlocker--perhaps you could try adding that to your browser?

Anyone who's already seen the Ratmansky production:

If I'm planning to get an orchestra balance ticket (far to the side and midway back), which side would you suggest I sit on? In other words, are there any scenes for which you'd definitely want to be able to see one side or the other?

Thanks!

I thought sitting far left was better (that is far left when you are looking at the stage). When on the right, I completely missed the stuff that happened in front of the bassinet in the Prologue, missed the King/Queen acting, Carabosse's entrance in Act 1, the big kiss to wake up, etc. Obviously none of these are MAJOR issues, but I saw two from far left and one from far right, and sitting far left was my personal preference.

So the big question for me now is whether I can sit through a Hee Seo/Cory Stearns SB in order to see Gomes as Carabosse.

I thought they were pretty good in it in CA, Seo especially. I wasn't expecting much due to complaints about Seo's technique/stamina, but I would say certainly worth it based on what I saw.

http://www.musiccenter.org/1516dance

The season was just announced today. Surprisingly both the Mariinsky will be there with Cinderella and ABT with a mixed bill that includes Ratmanksy's Firebird which I guess predicts that the Firebird will be on the MET season platter next year. I hope the rest of the mixed bill includes a Tudor piece (like Pillar or Jardin) since they are doing them this year (yeah, right, I know).

Mariinsky Ballet 10/08-10/11 (2015)

American Ballet Theater 7/08-7/10 (2016)

et. al

I would have thought the Nutcracker pact with SCFTA would have limited ABT's touring to SCFTA for their SoCal engagements.

Probably about 6-8 weeks ahead of the run. They usually do promo codes for priority access, though, through email or Facebook. I'd be really surprised if you had problems getting tickets (and good ones) even after single tickets go on-sale.

The roll out for this season is bizarre, as there is no mention on SCFTA's FB page or on the front page of their new website of it.

Line-up:

Mariinsky Ballet: Raymonda

One of the most elegant and celebrated ballets of all time – and rarely seen in its entirety - the full-length Raymonda will be performed for the first time in Southern California. These will be performances of extraordinary virtuosity in the grand ballet style as only a company such as the Mariinsky can achieve.

9/24-9-27 (6 shows)

American Ballet Theater: The Nutcracker

A new Southern California tradition begins with American Ballet Theatre's newest Nutcracker, created by Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky and featuring sets and costumes from Richard Hudson (Broadway's Lion King). A cast of more than 100 performers - including students from our own ABT William J. Gillespie School - accompany young Clara on a dreamlike journey amid colorful, larger-than-life scenery, magical toy soldiers, mischievous mice, sparkling snowflakes, and a glittering Christmas tree!

12/10-12/20 (14 shows)

Les Ballet de Monte Carlo: Choré

Choré is a full-length ballet of epic scope that casts a fresh, provocative light on Hollywood musicals by setting their evolution against a turbulent historical backdrop. Tears and laughter, hope and fear, war and peace are evoked in a ballet that stirs the mind as well as the heart.

2/11-2/13 (4 shows)

Alvin Ailey

Segerstrom Center for the Arts welcomes the return of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater with a program of works drawn from the company’s large and captivating repertory. Center audiences join all dance lovers around the world in reveling in the Alvin Ailey spirit, imagination, commitment and energy. It is one of the most celebrated and beloved dance companies in the world.

4/7-4/10 (5 shows)

Royal Swedish Ballet: ?????? (I think it's Swan Lake though based on the fact they have Tchaikovsky listed as the composer; edit: Nope after googling it's likely Romeo & Juliet. Very clear promo material!)

A romantic story in a brutal environment. A clash of people and power. A struggle between generations. Love, hate and jealousy. Who can win? The Royal Swedish Ballet returns to the Center for the second time since 1999 to perform Mats Ek’s compelling and daring version of the world’s most celebrated love story, envisioned by Ek as revelatory and, as critics agree, haunting. (<- This is literally the description with no reference to what the actual ballet is)

6/10-6/12 (4 shows)

Thank god for Raymonda and The Nutcracker.

Man, I hope we still get Raymonda in Socal. Feeling a little wary after this and mussel's statement that the Mariinsky was reconsidering the rep.

I finally have some time to chime in regarding the Suday matinee with Seo/Stearns/Shevchenko/Gomes. Zhurbin/Underwood = King/Queen. Prologue Fairies in order: Hamrick/S. Williams/G. Bond/ Z. Fang / A. Giangeruso. Bluebird = Lane and Zhang

I know Seo has her detractors, but I thought she was radiant and totally on-form in this role. Probably the most well-rounded Aurora I saw this week, and she looked genuinely happy to be dancing--not just acting happy. If you are deciding whether it's worth it, I think it is. She has great chemistry with Stearns, who was not so wooden and seemed really engaged with acting in the role. Shevchenko, as Josette noted, was technically wonderful as the Lilac Fairy and also gracious and warm (and managed to overcome her slight height)--great casting. Gomes was a hoot as Carabosse; this is also great casting. I thought he had some costume malfunctions in the prologue with his cape and hat. He was gripping it like it was going to fall off for the first few minutes. If this was not a malfunction, then it's a weird choice; but it if is a malfunction, he certainly never broke character while it was occurring.

I've been seeing Elina Miettinen in the corps all week, noticing her as the petite but precise girl in the front and for the matinee she was a convincing White Cat (with Alexei Agoudine). Really lovely dancer. I would like to see Lauren Post and Gemma Bond together as the third act fairies; both have been the neatest most precise ones this week and they would look great together. Lane was expansive and delicate as Princess Florine, and while Zhang didn't make as big of a splash as Simkin as Bluebird, he certainly partnered her well.

Unfortunately, I swapped my sides for the last show (from house left to house right) to get a different perspective and wasn't able to see much of Zhurbin and Underwood's stage acting, aside from what was done in center stage. I would encourage people to avoid a far house right seat for this production, though I was closer so that enhanced the performance in different ways (and that was the reason I swapped, despite thinking it would block some action). When I sat far house left for the first two shows I hardly missed any big moments.

The partner issue seems like a likely culprit. I don't understand how assigning her who she wanted for her farewell performance wouldn't be a priority for ABT. But I agree it's insulting only if she felt like she was pushed into it--not if she decided she just didn't want to dance in SB as her final performance (though you'd think during the rehearsal process you'd realize whether it was a role you were comfortable in or not, especially with her experience) and would prefer it to be Giselle.

A question about the Lilac Fairy variation: from the photos I've seen her costume appears to have a long skirt with a very tall head dress. I was picturing this costume and Veronika trying to pirouette in it. Was this the case? How did Devon Teuscher accomplish it? Or perhaps there is also a tutu costume for this variation? I can't wait to see this production during the Met season!

There is a tutu costume for the Prologue for the variation, rather than the long dress/giant headdress. She also wears pointe shoes in the Prologue, versus character heels for the rest.

Josette: thank you for your report. Could you say who all the Fairies were in the Prologue for the Boylston cast? I see you listed Trenary as Canary, but I'm wondering who else was in the line-up.

Very few cast changes from opening night to the Friday show with Herrera/Nedak, so I struck the repeat cast (hopefully will see some new faces on Sunday). Everything except Diamond Fairy (Shevchenko), The Countess (Luciana Voltolini), and Red Riding Hood/Wolf (Nicole Graniero/Arron Scott) were the same, I believe.

There were a few things that were immediately noticeable as changed. First, the curtain doesn't open in the prologue to reveal the castle backdrop. The Lilac variation was scrubbed and replaced for Part; instead of the complicated turns that seemed to falter on opening night there was a more expansive variation with posing attitudes and some jetes. I don't think it showed her off to any better effect, but she certainly didn't stumble in it. The Lilac entourage also made it on in the opening of Act III--I thought it was weird on opening night that they only brought her out to pose in the last 10 seconds, but this time she was carried out along with Carabosse, and then they both came out at the ending as well.

I thought Sarah Lane was even more expressive in her Breadcrumb variation; her arms sang beautifully and I wished I could see her perform Aurora's Act III solo. Cassandra Trenary was still as lovely as on opening night and I hope her Aurora is not too far off and that she doesn't get caught in the death knell that is the ABT corps. She partners Simkin well, and perhaps this will secure her assent. Shevchenko was much, much more effective as the Diamond Fairy, stylistically fitting into the production better with beautiful head placement in her giant crown and soft jumps.

I stuck with these tickets despite the main casting; I've never had strong feelings toward Herrera beyond thinking she was technically well-equipped and had gorgeous feet, but I wanted to see her once more before retirement. She is not as expressive as Vishneva, but you never feel like she is going to have trouble doing anything--and she didn't. She was pitch perfect technically in all acts and I think she was more relaxed than I've seen her in the past (though I enjoyed her in the Bright Stream quite a bit). It's hard to understand her retirement when she is capable of a role like this still. Her Rose Adagio was without fault, but my heart did not beat faster (as it often does) before that last crescendo of attitudes in promenade and maybe this is down to her technical excellence: I don't expect her to falter. Notably, she didn't bend her foot in B plus (croisse derriere) as is the norm for the production. Nedak was essentially forgettable, and given how little the prince has to do in this (and the fact that he wasn't impressive) I don't understand why he was brought in--though he appears to be a fine dancer, just nothing special. He and Herrera have no real chemistry and I thought the fish dives (especially bringing her out of them) were a bit precarious.

Onto Seo/Stearns and GOMES as Carabosse.

posted in wrong topic.