Vail 2023

[volcanohunter]

1 hour ago, cobweb said:

I have no idea if it's related, but several years back during the Balanchine celebration at City Center, I saw Miami City Ballet do Glinka pas de trois. I can't remember if it had a pas de deux or not. I thought it was a delightful piece. I've asked a couple of time on BA whether anyone knows the piece or why it's not in NYCB's rep, and no one answered. Mysteries of the repertory. 

I first saw Glinka Pas de Trois about 35 years ago--performed not by NYCB--and back then part of the issue was that the ballet was bequeathed to André Eglevsky's widow, and initially it didn't fall under the Balanchine Trust. Although the photo on the Trust website is clearly from a NYCB performance.

https://www.balanchine.com/Ballet/Pas-de-Trois-(Glinka)

Edited August 7, 2023 by volcanohunter

[FPF]

15 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

I first saw Glinka Pas de Trois about 35 years ago--performed not by NYCB--and back then part of the issue was that the ballet was bequeathed to André Eglevsky's widow, and initially it didn't fall under the Balanchine Trust. Although the photo on the Trust website is clearly from a NYCB performance.

https://www.balanchine.com/Ballet/Pas-de-Trois-(Glinka)

This picture looks to be from the 1993 Balanchine Celebration revival with Jock Soto, Wendy Whelan, and Lourdes Lopes. It got a great review in the NYT, so it's not clear why it hasn't been performed by NYCB since then: "Among the newly revived short pieces, only "Glinka Pas de Trois" is danced, at this point, to perfection. Lourdes Lopez, Jock Soto and Wendy Whelan give this nonstop exhibition of brilliant footwork and airborne wit the needed stamina and spirit: an outstanding performance not to be missed."

Digging around, I found another website that lists seldom-performed Balanchine ballets (https://www.balanchinepatrons.org/seldom). According to this website, several companies have performed "Glinka Pas de Trios" more recently: American Ballet Theatre (1997); Oakland Ballet (2003); Carolina Ballet (2012); and Miami City Ballet (2018).

[abatt]

I'm pretty sure I saw Miami City Ballet do this ballet a long time ago - either at Jacob's Pillow or when they visited NJPAC many years ago. 

[cobweb]

Miami City Ballet did the Glinka pas de trois at the Balanchine celebration at City Center several years back (2018?). I remember it being delightful. 

[California]

On 8/5/2023 at 4:40 PM, California said:

The NOW Premieres will be streamed live on Monday, August 7 (7:30 MDT; 9:30 EDT).

The program: https://vaildance.org/event/now-premieres-2023/

The NOW live stream will be available on You Tube for one week:

WE WILL BE LIVESTREAMING NOW: PREMIERES ON AUGUST 7 AT 7:30PM MDT!

The stream will stay online for one week, so be sure to tune in before August 14 at 5pm MDT!

YOUTUBE LIVESTREAM

[California]

Here's the YouTube link for Vail NOW: PREMIERES. On-line through August 14:

 

[vipa]

On 8/7/2023 at 5:43 PM, cobweb said:

Miami City Ballet did the Glinka pas de trois at the Balanchine celebration at City Center several years back (2018?). I remember it being delightful. 

Thank you Cobweb, abatt and FPF for the info on Glinka pas de trois.  The piece done at Vail, Divertimento Brillante, could be related in some way. I'm still very curious.

One of my biggest takeaways from Vail was an increased admiration for Heather Watts. Her coaching obviously bears fruit, and her search for talent through all types of social media is wonderful. It would be easy to just invite principal dancers from well known companies, but she really looks for talent every which way. One example is Mayfield Myers, a corps dancer in the Philadelphia Ballet. Myers doesn't have a virtuoso technique, but she has a light, joyful, open way of moving that is totally engaging.  Another example is Spencer Lenain. Heather found him on TikTok where he has a million followers, and is a dance influencer! His freedom, facility and imagination are a pleasure to watch. He performed a piece with Philip Duclos (Royal Danish Ballet) and KJ Takahashi, choreographed by Larry Keigwin, that showed off the strengths of all three dancers. Their comaradarie was obvious. I'll say again that I've become a big fan of Philip Duclos, an SAB grad who didn't get into NYCB and is in RDB. I'm so glad I got to see his fine technique, beautiful carriage and charming stage presence, and hope I will again.

On to the NYCB season! I've been reading all the comments about ticket buying, and have to get on it. 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by vipa

[duffster]

I performed the Glinka pas de trois with Marina Eglevsky and Fernando Bujones at the Brooklyn Academy of Music many years ago . We were dancing with the small Eglevsky company shortly after the Harkness folded. As I recall it had an entree, then a slow adagio with all three dancers, two variations for everyone, then the coda which finished with twelve brise vole, traveling on a diagonal downstage to finish. Quite tough to dance but very exciting and joyful. Andre(Eglevsky) rehearsed us and I can still remember how excited he was coaching Fernando, who was absolutely brilliant. It was a gift to perform this, and everytime I hear the music, it makes me smile.

[vipa]

36 minutes ago, duffster said:

I performed the Glinka pas de trois with Marina Eglevsky and Fernando Bujones at the Brooklyn Academy of Music many years ago . We were dancing with the small Eglevsky company shortly after the Harkness folded. As I recall it had an entree, then a slow adagio with all three dancers, two variations for everyone, then the coda which finished with twelve brise vole, traveling on a diagonal downstage to finish. Quite tough to dance but very exciting and joyful. Andre(Eglevsky) rehearsed us and I can still remember how excited he was coaching Fernando, who was absolutely brilliant. It was a gift to perform this, and everytime I hear the music, it makes me smile.

How fun, and what a wonderful memory to have. I wish I could see Divertimento Brillante again (the Balanchine/Glinka piece I saw in Vail) to see if any of it matched up to your description of Glinka pas de trois. 

[Quiggin]

4 hours ago, vipa said:

Another example is Spencer Lenain. Heather found him on TikTok where he has a million followers, and is a dance influencer! His freedom, facility and imagination are a pleasure to watch. He performed a piece with Philip Duclos (Royal Danish Ballet) and KJ Takahashi, choreographed by Larry Keigwin, that showed off the strengths of all three dancers.

Yes, that piece really stood out for me, so free and natural looking. Swingers of birches.

[maps]

Love the Abraham -at 50.   NOW: PREMIERES | Monday, August 7, 2023 - YouTube Hope to see it performed. Great costumes that don't detract from choreography [costume galas].

"If you run, I might fall (World Premiere) Music by Johann Sebastian Bach Choreography by Kyle Abraham in collaboration with the cast ...Costumes by Kyle Abraham and Marlene Hamm OLIVIA BELL, CHUN WAI CHAN, JEFFREY CIRIO, ADJI CISSOKO, PHILIP DUCLOS, MAYFIELD MYERS, MIRA NADON, KJ TAKAHASHI, STEPHANIE TERASAKI"

Edited August 10, 2023 by maps

[BalanchineFan]

15 hours ago, duffster said:

I performed the Glinka pas de trois with Marina Eglevsky and Fernando Bujones at the Brooklyn Academy of Music many years ago . We were dancing with the small Eglevsky company shortly after the Harkness folded. As I recall it had an entree, then a slow adagio with all three dancers, two variations for everyone, then the coda which finished with twelve brise vole, traveling on a diagonal downstage to finish. Quite tough to dance but very exciting and joyful. Andre(Eglevsky) rehearsed us and I can still remember how excited he was coaching Fernando, who was absolutely brilliant. It was a gift to perform this, and everytime I hear the music, it makes me smile.

There’s a short clip of Balanchine and Danilova rehearsing three dancers in a pas de trois in the film In Balanchine’s Classroom. The man is Bujones. I think Connie Hochman is one of the women. Now I wonder if they’re rehearsing this Glinka pas de Trois. 
 

also, thank you to all who posted links to the livestream from Vail. I particularly enjoyed Jeffrey Cirio in the new Kyle Abraham, If You Run, I Might Fall.  In and out of the floor like butter, and then triple pirouettes and gargouillades.  WATCH IT BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS!
 

It’s so nice to see K Abraham choreographing to Bach! I hope it turns into a study for a longer piece, it seems to just end when it could go on and on. 

Edited August 9, 2023 by BalanchineFan

[Royal Blue]

A ten-minute work for six dancers performed on demi-pointe, the intriguingly titled A Squiggle Is a Dot That Went for a Dance was the ninth and last piece of the Vail Dance Festival NOW: PREMIERES 2023 edition. Choreographed by Justin Peck, and featuring music by Caroline Shaw, it enraptured me on first viewing. Isabella Boylston, Patricia Delgado, Robbie Fairchild, Lauren Lovette, Caili Quan and James Whiteside were the dancers. All were dressed in practice clothes, with Quan looking particularly lovely in a short black unitard. In slightly loose-fitting white shorts and a pink tank top, Lovette also looked fantastic, appearing in clothing one might observe a woman wearing on a warm summer day in the street. Everyone danced skillfully, and the work's disarming beauty attenuated any reservations one had beforehand regarding those chosen to perform the ballet. Several lighting changes during its duration enhanced its effectiveness by bathing at times the enchanting sylvan background of this singular venue, as well as its flooring, in dazzling, seductive colors which included green, purplish blue and red. Behind the dancers, Shaw played the violin and vocalized. Her newly commissioned evocative composition enriched Peck's attractive choreography. A Squiggle Is a Dot That Went for a Dance provides a perfect example, in fact, of the power of music and the massive impact it can have on a dance work. Although there are different opinions about how to film dance, the taping was from my perspective magnificent.

One especially gorgeous moment captured marvelously by the camera occurred early in a section of the work featuring Boylston partnered by Whiteside. From the wing, the viewer perceived the two dancers standing a bit apart —one behind the other from the vantage point of the live audience— in arabesque position. Moving forward, Whiteside proceeded to lift his partner marginally as she maintained the same position. During this time, and as the lift materialized, Boylston slowly raised her originally downcast eyes in an ethereal, consummate manner towards the "firmament." The celestial serenity marking her expression —lips slightly parted at the end— touched the soul.

Both Quan and (especially) Delgado, to be sure, had their prominent moments too, including solos also noticeably danced with downcast eyes. Nevertheless, from early in the ballet when all the dancers stood with arms raised high in fifth position —the others forming a circle around Boylston— the work's most sublime instants during its first half-dozen minutes unquestionably belonged to Lauren Lovette. (Some unfolded while partnered gracefully by Fairchild.) Although credit is due to everyone involved in the production of A Squiggle Is a Dot That Went for a Dance, Lovette for her part seized the opportunity it provided to recapture the ballet lover's imagination, securely turning her performance  —deftly documented on video— into one of the high points of her dancing career.