National Ballet School Assemblée Internationale

An exciting 50th anniversary gathering is being held at Canada's National Ballet School in November, with all of the world's best ballet schools represented. There will be some interesting performances:

Performance Schedule

PROGRAM A – Wednesday November 18, 7:30pm Canada’s National Ballet School Swan Lake, Act I Scene II Choreographed by Erik Bruhn Intermission Royal Danish Ballet School Napoli, Pas de Six Choreographed by August Bournonville San Francisco Ballet School Haffner Symphony Choreographed by Helgi Tomasson Palucca Schule Dresden Testbild Engerlinge Choreographed by Anke Glasgow Royal Conservatory (The Hague) Falling Angels Choreographed by Jiri Kylian Intermission National Ballet Academy (Amsterdam) For a Close Friend Choreographed by Jan Linkens Hamburg Ballet School Vaslaw Choreographed by John Neumeier Rotterdam Dance Academy Blue Dance duet Choreographed by Ton Simons TOTAL RUNNING TIME with intermissions – 2hrs 36min

PROGRAM B – Thursday November 19, 7:30pm Royal Ballet School (London) Untitled Choreographed by Liam Scarlett Canada’s National Ballet School Swan Lake, Pas de Deux Choreographed by Erik Bruhn Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Pas de Quatre Choreographed by David Moroni Intermission Paris Opera Ballet School Suite de danses Choreographed by Yvan Clustine National Ballet School of Cuba Ballet Majisimo Choreographed by Jorge Garcia Intermission San Francisco Ballet School Fractals, Parish Maynard Adagio & Male V Choreographed by Parish Maynard John Cranko School (Stuttgart) In and Out Choreographed by Hans van Manen Rotterdam Dance Academy Once A Tango Choreographed by Neel Verdoorn TOTAL RUNNING TIME with intermissions – 2hrs 36min

Student CHOREOGRAPHIES – Friday November 20, 7:30pm & Saturday November 21, 2:30pm

1. Hamburg Ballet School – Words Unsaid, choreographed by Sasha Riva
2. Paris Opera Ballet School – A Corps, Essence, choreographed by Florent Melac
3. Royal Danish Ballet School – Elements, choreographed by Viktoria Falck-Schmidt & Ida Praetorius
4. Canada’s National Ballet School – a currently untitled work, choreographed by Sara Coffield
5. National Ballet School of Cuba – Danzon Barocco, choreographed by Denia Luisa Suárez Leyva
6. John Cranko School (Stuttgart) – Hidden Fears, choreographed by Alessandra Spada
   
   Intermission
7. Royal Ballet School – Brush Strokes, choreographed by William Bracewell
8. Partner schools without student choreographers – Improvisation AI09, directed by NBS' Shaun Amyot
9. San Francisco Ballet School – Time Piece, choreographed by Myles Thatcher
10. Canada’s National Ballet School – Elegy for a Round World, choreographed by Helen Clare Kinney
11. Royal Winnipeg Ballet School – The Sea Within Us, choreographed by Alex Lantz
12. Canada’s National Ballet School – Surge, choreographed by Rob Binet

For more info: http://www.nbs-enb.ca/50th/ai09.aspx#performances

Stars of Cuban National Ballet

I'm trying to put together a group to see Stars of Cuban National Ballet at the Living Arts Centre in MIssissauga on Tuesday, December 8. According to the website, program includes In the Shadows of a Waltz, choreography by Alicia Alonso on a waltz by Strauss, Principal Dancers and the Cuban National Ballet corps de ballet; Dolls, Cuban music on the story of a Cuban doll and a toy soldier; The Nutcracker, pas de deux; Acentos, five male dancers, very technical interpretation; Pas de trois, from Swan Lake, 1st act; Intermittencies of the Heart, romantic and dramatic duo; Don Quixote (suite), Toreadors, Majas, Espada,Mercedes, Kitri and Basilio in the Grand pas de deux. I'm not quite sure what "very technical interpretation" means!
http://www.livingartscentre.ca/event_calendar/listing.php
http://www.balletcuba.cult.cu/paginas/presentaciones.html

Kirov and Bolshoi in Washington

I'm very excited about how the trip to see the Kirov (Maryinsky) and Bolshoi in Washington DC from February 13-17 is coming together. What a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see both of these companies within the space of a few days, without having to trek to Russia. And they're both performing their signature ballets, Sleeping Beauty and Spartacus. Should be fun! Finalized details will be available next week.