Tuesday, September 19

[dirac]

Dancers past and present mingle as New York City Ballet opens its seventy-fifth season.

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Also there were the leaders who succeeded Balanchine. Peter Martins, the ballet master in chief who retired in 2018 under a cloud of misconduct allegations, was received warmly by many of his former dancers. Jonathan Stafford, the company’s current artistic director, and Wendy Whelan, its associate artistic director, who tracked down many of the attendees on the internet to extend an invitation, were the party’s hosts.

What they all seemed to share was a reverence for Balanchine — or Mr. B, as his dancers called him — and a commitment to continue his legacy, though they have not always agreed on the best ways to do so.

 

[dirac]

Houston Ballet presents a triple bill.

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First soloist Monica Gomez will be dancing in all three segments of the mixed rep which opens this Thursday, September 21 at the Wortham Center. In Stanton's Tu Tu, created originally for the San Francisco Ballet, she is one of three couples dancing to Ravel's Concerto for Piano in G major — hers is the fast-moving and fiery gold couple.
 

 

[dirac]

The English National Ballet presents a new version of "Les Noces" by Andrea Miller.

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Les Noces is known in Britain because the founder choreographer of the Royal Ballet, Frederick Ashton, had been mentored by Nijinska in Paris in the late 1920s, and was determined her works should be seen. Monica Mason, a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in the 1960s and 70s (and later its artistic director) spoke recently of an ageing Nijinska coming to London to teach the company, with a loudly crackling hearing aid and little English, only demonstrating with her arms. She worked the dancers tirelessly, with no thought for breaks (and they were all too afraid to ask). Mason revealed that Nijinska’s husband kept a small notebook in his pocket and if someone displeased Nijinska their name would be written in the book.

 

[dirac]

Musicians stage a rally at Lincoln Center on New York City Ballet's opening night.

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According to the union, the musicians are making 9% less today than they did in 2019, before COVID struck.

"Now the company is doing great, finances better than ever, but we're not seeing any of it," said Ethan Silverman, who's a bassoon player. "Offers at the bargaining table are very bad to say the least."

 

[dirac]

Former dancer and accused murderer Ashley Benefield's self-defense claim is rejected by the judge in her case.

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Ashley Benefield, 31, stands accused of murder in the second degree for shooting and killing her estranged husband, Douglas “Doug” Benefield, 58, inside their Lakewood Ranch, Florida, home in September 2020. The defendant has consistently maintained she acted in self-defense since being arrested in November of that year.

2021 Vanity Fair article on the case by Alice Robb.