Tours en l'air organizes ballet-themed escorted holidays to see the best companies perform great ballets in beautiful places. You can join a trip from anywhere. A highly knowledgeable balletomane who has enjoyed 100s of performances in over 20 cities around the world,I speak English, French, and German, and am a Travel Industry Council of Ontario certified Travel Counsellor. I also teach ballet appreciation courses.
For a taste of what our trips are like, follow https://www.facebook.com/toursenlair/ on facebook.
Tours en l'air Ballet Holidays are offered in partnership with CWT Victor Travel, 101 - 8800 Dufferin Street, Concord, ON L4K 0C5, 416-736-6010, TICO # 1892647

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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

WIN! a ticket to New York City Ballet "Ballet essentials"

Daniel Ulbricht leading a Ballet Essentials class
 
Experience New York City Ballet in a whole new way in this 75-minute movement workshop intended for adults with little or no dance training. New York City Ballet dancers lead participants through a ballet warm-up and movement combinations with choreography inspired by repertory in the current season. Workshops also include a brief Q&A with the artists. These workshops are incredibly fun and popular (all workshops for 2014-15 are already sold out, but this is your chance to get a ticket!)

Class taught by NYCB Principal Andrew Veyette

Saturday January 24, 2015 @ 1030 am
Vogelstein Studio
Rose Building
Lincoln Center NY

To enter:

Subscribe to updates from toursenlair.blogspot.com before Tuesday, January 20. To do so, email 
toursenlair@gmail.com with the subject line SUBSCRIBE CONTEST and confirm your subscription (you will be given instructions on how to do this). 



If you love ballet, please check out my season of outstanding ballet trips by clicking here.

GET MORE BALLET OUT OF LIFE WITH TOURS EN L'AIR

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Monday, December 29, 2014

Lots of useful ballet info in this month's newsletter


Tours en l'air
Ballet Holidays
Ballet Appreciation Courses
www.toursenlair.blogspot.ca
phone: 416-693-4496
email: toursenlair@gmail.com

Dear Balletomane,

PLEASE read your newsletter! To spare your inbox, I typically send this newsletter out only once a month (sometimes at shorter intervals depending on signup deadlines). When I do send one out, there is crucial time-sensitive information in it. Plus stuff you will enjoy! I will always mention the trips first, because I have to be sure you will see that. But my newsletters aren't just about my ballet trips, so do keep reading.
In this newsletter 

         1) Stuttgart - Munich Ballet Trip Now Booking
        2) New York, Hamburg, and Saratoga Springs
        3)
Vienna and Prague
        4) Royal Ballet broadcasts in Canada
        5)
Ballet 422: A Documentary about New York City Ballet
        6) Other upcoming ballet events
        7) Bavarian State Ballet to livestream new Ratmansky Paquita
        8) Videos

 
Stuttgart - Munich Ballet Trip Now Booking
23 April – 1 May 2015
9 days, 8 nights
5 ballet performances

BALLET BUCKET LIST*
Ballets by John Cranko performed by his own Stuttgart Ballet in Stuttgart
Sightseeing in beautiful southern Germany
Masterpieces by Cranko, Ratmansky, Neumeier, and Fokine
performed by the world-renowned
Stuttgart Ballet and Bavarian State Ballet
For more information, click here.
REGISTRATION AND DEPOSIT DUE DATE 20 JANUARY 2015


New York in May: New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre
Hamburg in July: Hamburg Ballet and Houston Ballet
Saratoga Springs mid-July weekend: New York City Ballet
Signup will be in January and February. If you are the least bit interested, it is important that you let me know, so that I have an idea of how many ballet tickets and hotel rooms to have on hold. No commitment required. You can change your mind once the brochure comes out. But if only 10 people tell me they might go, then suddenly 25 people want to sign up and I don't have that many ballet tickets or hotel rooms on hold, you are out of luck!
For Saratoga Springs, I would look at organizing transport from Toronto and Ottawa, so let me know if you would be taking advantage of that.

Vienna and Prague
(daytrips to Bratislava & Dresden)

26 March – 5 April 2015

Booking for this trip has now closed, but if you think you would like to join the 14 of us, please email  me to see if hotel and ticket availability can be arranged. 


Royal Ballet broadcasts in Canada
Tickets under $20! Use it or lose it. Bring some friends!
Manon
Saturday January 17, 12 noon
Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W. @ Bathurst, Toronto  416.637.3123
Monday 26 January, 630 pm at some Landmark Cinemas in Canada, check your local listings here:
http://meigroup.ca/royal-opera-house-cinema-season/
If you didn't see the National Ballet of Canada's performances of this incredible, passionate ballet in November, do not miss this!! And if you did see the NBOC, you'll want to see it again, from the closeup vantage point of the filmed version.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
January 24 and 2 February in Landmark Cinemas in Canada, check local listings
http://meigroup.ca/royal-opera-house-cinema-season/

Saturday February 14, 12 pm at Bloor Cinema in Toronto

To find broadcast locations in the US, click here:
http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2014/07/bolshoi-royal-ballet-cinema-broadcasts.html

Ballet 422: A Documentary about New York City Ballet
Keep your eyes peeled for the theatrical release, starting February 6, of this documentary following the whole creative process that went into Justin Peck's Paz de la Jolla for New York City Ballet. The film has been getting some rave reviews; US play dates listed here :
Still waiting for Canadian play dates.
Great trailer here:


Other upcoming ballet events
Ballet 360
Ballet Jorgen Canada
January 23 & 24
Betty Oliphant Theatre, Toronto
Robert Desrosiers's tour de force
Bouffonia, which premiered to great acclaim last season, will return along with Allen Kaeja’s Yet and Malgorzata Nowacka’s Séance  


Swan Lake 
Sunday, January 25, 1255 pm
The Bolshoi Ballet Live, starring Svetlana Zakharova
Cineplex Theatres
To find broadcast locations in the US, click here:
http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2014/07/bolshoi-royal-ballet-cinema-broadcasts.html
The Alliance française of Toronto has announced that it will be screening two Paris Opera Ballet performances in its cinema this year:

Saturday, January 31, 2015 - 1:30 pm -
Le défilé du Ballet de l'Opéra - La Marche des Troyens, Hector Berlioz;
(the entire Ballet organization, from the youngest student to the most senior étoile, processes onto the stage of the Palais Garnier)
Études (Lander),
Nutcracker excerpts
Saturday, April 18, 2015 - 1:30 pm Balanchine/Millepied
Le Palais de cristal (original version of Symphony in C) - Georges Balanchine (Bizet, costumes by Christian Lacroix)
Daphnis et Chloé - Benjamin Millepied
(Ravel)

Alliance Francaise de Toronto
Toronto Downtown campus
24 Spadina Road
Toronto, ON M5R 2S7
Tel: 416 922 2014
toronto@alliance-francaise.ca

 To buy tickets:
http://fr.brownpapertickets.com/event/902477




General$25
Members$20
Members (under 25 / Seniors)$20
Partners / under 25 / Seniors$20



Bavarian State Ballet to livestream new Ratmansky Paquita
The Bayerische Staatsballet's new full-length Paquita 
choreography by Alexei Ratmansky (reconstruction of the Petipa choreography)
This recently opened to rave reviews. You can see it livestreamed free of charge from Munich on
Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015, 6.00 p.m. (Central European Time) (noon Eastern Standard Time)
Only available live; not archived after the fact. Visit STAATSOPER.TV.


Videos
Cool 30-second video from Czech National Ballet:
http://youtu.be/I3laAUBoW4k

Josua Hoffalt from Paris Opera Ballet leaping about
http://youtu.be/X2whiPYdcS8

Cool slo-mo lift from Paris Opera Ballet's Ludmila Pagliero and Florian Magnenet (our Lucien d'Hervilly, to those who went to see POB in Montreal):
http://youtu.be/kWjuwPqjdlk

Don't forget my website toursenlair.blogspot.com is a wealth of balletic info. Use the search function to find what you're looking for!

And for those of you who love words, why not head over to my Wordlady blog for fun and informative posts about the English language. I'm currently running a series on the “12 Days of Wordlady”: www.katherinebarber.blogspot.com
All the very best, in ballet and in life, in 2015!

Follow me on Twitter: @thewordlady Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/katherine.barber.37


Sincerely,

Katherine Barber

Tours en l'air

www.toursenlair.blogspot.com

201 Hanson St, Toronto, ON Canada M4C 1A7 416.693.4496

BALLET MAKES LIFE BETTER

GET MORE BALLET OUT OF LIFE WITH TOURS EN L'AIR




Privacy policy:

We will not sell, rent, or give your name or address to anyone.You may unsubscribe at any time by emailing toursenlair@gmail.com with the subject line UNSUBSCRIBE.

If you love ballet, please check out my season of outstanding ballet trips by clicking here.

Use the buttons below to share this post on facebook, twitter, by email, or other social media.
Follow me 
on twitter: @thewordlady
on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katherine.barber.37
You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.
 



Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Munich-Stuttgart Ballet Trip: Signup Deadline 20 January

**For a printer-friendly version of this brochure, please click here or email toursenlair@gmail.com

Carlson Wagonlit Victor Travel
101 - 8800 Dufferin Street, Concord, ON L4K 0C5

TICO Ontario registration #1892647

presents



Tours en l'air

Ballet Holidays



escorted by

Canada's Word Lady,

Katherine Barber





Stuttgart and Munich

23 April – 1 May 2015

9 days, 8 nights

5 ballet performances



BALLET BUCKET LIST*
Ballets by John Cranko performed by his own Stuttgart Ballet in Stuttgart

*Your checklist for ballets, companies, performers, experiences that every ballet lover should enjoy at least once in their life



Sightseeing in beautiful southern Germany
and masterpieces by Cranko, Ratmansky, Neumeier, and Fokine performed by the world-renowned Stuttgart Ballet and Bavarian State Ballet



LAND-ONLY PACKAGE allows you the flexibility of arranging travel from 
your mostconvenient departure point, on the dates and times you prefer,
and to extend your stay if you wish.
Victor Travel's experienced agents will be happy to assist you with 
flight arrangements.



You can use RBC Reward Points and/or RBC Certificates towards
the purchase of this package!

Munich


Thursday 23 April: MUNICH

Arrive Munich. Check in to 3-star Domus hotel,10 minutes walk from Nationaltheater (optional upgrade to 4-star Platzl Hotel, 4 minutes walk from theatre**).


Friday 24 April: MUNICH

Morning: Private walking tour of historic central Munich. Afternoon at leisure. Evening welcome dinner then performance of Bavarian State Ballet: Midsummer NIght's Dream (Neumeier)
http://youtu.be/Wj7UhpDwqMM
 


Saturday 25 April: MUNICH 
 

Morning: visit to Nymphenburg palace with private guided tour. Afternoon at leisure

Evening: performance of Bavarian State Ballet: Paquita (reconstruction of full-length version by Ratmansky after Petipa, recently premiered to rave reviews).
Sunday 26 April: MUNICH

11 am - 1 pm: Performance of the Bavarian State Ballet School and Junior Company. Afternoon at leisure. Suggested activity: visit the adjacent palatial former residence of the Bavarian monarchy, with its jewel-like 18th-century theatre. Evening: Bavarian State Ballet: Scheherazade (Fokine), Les Biches (Nijinska), Once upon an ever after (Kohler)
http://youtu.be/5Tcg8_e3Bdw


 

Monday 27 April: MUNICH

Day at leisure. Suggested activities: train trip to the beautiful Bavarian Alps to visit one of “Mad” King Ludwig II's numerous castle-building projects; visit one of Munich's many renowned museums. Evening: 3-course dinner


Tuesday 28 April: MUNICH - AUGSBURG - STUTTGART 

Transfer by private coach to Augsburg (1 hr from Munich). Watch Ballet Augsburg rehearsals. Lunch with Ballet Augsburg Artistic Director Robert Conn.  Private guided 2-hour walking tour of historic Augsburg. Continue to Stuttgart (2 hours) by train. Arrive Stuttgart; check in to 3-star City Hotel, 10 minutes walk from the opera house (optional upgrade to 5-star Schlossgarten Hotel, 5 minutes walk from opera house**).


Wednesday 29 April: STUTTGART

Stuttgart Opera House
Morning: Watch Stuttgart Ballet company class. Afternoon: Private guided walking tour of central Stuttgart. Tour of Stuttgart opera house. Evening: 3-course dinner.


Thursday 30 April: STUTTGART

Day at leisure. Suggested activities: visit one of Stuttgart's renowned art galleries, or the Mercedes-Benz or Porsche museum, or the botanical garden and zoo. You can relax in one of Stuttgart's mineral baths, stroll in the lovely Schlossgarten, or have some classic coffee and cake at a cafe. Or take a train ride to any of the following, all within an hour of Stuttgart:

Ludwigsburg, the Versailles of southern Germany

the beautiful medieval university towns of Tübingen or Heidelberg

Evening: performance of Stuttgart Ballet, all Cranko program: Initials R.B.M.E, Opus 1, Concerto for Flute and Harp, From Holberg's Time

Initials R.B.M.E.
http://youtu.be/0r3M1afL0-s



Friday 1 May: STUTTGART

Check out of hotel and depart Stuttgart.



REGISTRATION AND DEPOSIT DUE DATE

20 JANUARY 2015



GROUP SIZE LIMITED TO 20!



Total Package

3-star accommodation:

double occupancy: CA$3199 per person

single occupancy: CA$3629



4/5-star accommodation:

double occupancy: $3699 per person

single occupancy $4719

All prices valid till 20 January 2015

Package price includes:

3 nights twin share accommodation in the 3-star City Hotel in Stuttgart and 5 nights in the 3-star Domus Hotel in Munich

(travellers wishing to share will be put in touch with one another)

Daily breakfast

Orchestra seats for 5 ballets

Stuttgart Ballet and Ballet Augsburg company class

Private guided tour of Nymphenburg castle in Munich.

Private guided tour of Stuttgart opera house

Private walking tours of Augsburg, Stuttgart, and Munich

Private transfer by luxury coach from Munich to Augsburg
Train fare from Augsburg to Stuttgart 

Three 3-course dinners, one 2-course lunch

Beverages with group meals (mineral water, tea or coffee, and 1 glass wine or beer or soft drink)

Ballet enrichment program: ballet notes and informal pre-performance talks and post-performance reviews with tour leader



Not included:

Airfare

Meals and transfers not specifically mentioned in this itinerary

Items of a personal nature, e.g. phone calls

Cancellation insurance and hospital/medical insurance

All items and activities listed as optional or suggested in this brochure


Terms and Conditions:

Non-refundable deposit of CA$1750 per person is required at time of registration, no later than 20 January 2015, to secure your space for this package**.

Single supplement and optional cancellation and hospital/medical insurance are also payable at this time.

Final payment due 5 March 2015, and total package price is fully non-refundable.

All cancellations must be received in writing at Carlson Wagonlit Victor Travel to the attention of Lucy Nati (lucy@cwtvictortravel.ca).

RBC out-of-province health insurance and trip cancellation insurance are available through Victor Travel and STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. Price will vary according to birthdate. Premium must accompany the deposit and is non-refundable.



**The deposit is fully refundable in the event of cancellation of the trip by the travel agent



For more information:





phone: 416.693.4496






This program must be sold as a package. Extra hotel nights can be added on at extra cost (subject to availability). We cannot offer individual components separately, break the package into shorter installments, or offer an
accommodation only” option.



Mobility issues should be discussed with the travel agent before registering.



Travellers wishing to share will be put in touch with one another.



Disclaimer
Victor Travel acts only as agents for the traveller and accepts no responsibility for the services of any aircraft, bus, hotel, concert agencies, etc. used in this tour, nor any delays, loss or accident to travellers or baggage occasioned by such services. While the organizers will do everything possible to assist travellers, they similarly disclaim any such responsibility. 

The right is reserved to cancel or modify the tour.





GET MORE BALLET OUT OF LIFE WITH

TOURS EN L'AIR




for more fabulous escorted vacations for ballet lovers

and information on Katherine's highly popular ballet appreciation courses

We need a minimum of 9 people to sign up for this trip before January 20 . Since we cannot confirm that it will happen until we have our minimum, this is the procedure we recommend:

1) email me to confirm your interest (or, of course, if you have any questions)

2) I will then put you in touch with our travel agent so that you can give her your credit card number for the deposit to be charged to it. We do not process any payments until we are sure we have our minimum numbers, and will alert you when that happens (this could happen in one day, or it could take three weeks). However, we do take your credit card number as a commitment from you that you will go on the trip if the minimum enrollment is reached.

3) Once we have our minimum numbers, I will send you a registration form to fill out with your specific wishes re rooms, extra ballet tickets and so on. We don't like to make people do paperwork if the trip doesn't in fact materialize!

4) Do not make any flight bookings or any other arrangements until we know the trip is a go.



Use the buttons below to share this post on facebook, twitter, by email, or other social media.
Follow me 
on twitter: @thewordlady
on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katherine.barber.37
You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.
Privacy policy: we will not sell, rent, or give your name or address to anyone. You can unsubscribe at any point
 

Wheeldon Winter's Tale available on DVD


Christopher Wheeldon's much-lauded The Winter's Tale with the Royal Ballet, a hit with critics and audiences alike,  will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray in North America January 27, 2015. It is available for pre-order:
http://www.amazon.ca/Winters-Tale-Watson/dp/B00PH1H6G8/ref=sr_1_5?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1419341825&sr=1-5&keywords=winter%27s+tale

Cast:
Lauren Cuthbertson - Hermione
Steven McRae - Florizel
Edward Watson - Leontes
Zenaida Yanowsky - Paulina
Sarah Lamb - Perdita
Federico Bonelli - Polixenes
Bennet Gartside - Antigonus
Joe Parker - Mamillius

The Winter's Tale is a co-production with The National Ballet of Canada and will be performed in Toronto in the NBOC's 2015-16 season. It will not be broadcast in cinemas in Canada.

‘a triumph’ -- (Daily Telegraph)

Shakespeare’s enduring story of jealousy, compassion and forgiveness. Wheeldon’s staging is ‘eye-delighting’ (Financial Times), effortlessly capturing the work’s profound emotional trajectory, with powerful designs by Bob Crowley, Joby Talbot’s ‘skilful’ score (Guardian) and constantly inventive choreography. 

http://youtu.be/MS1cUOVpxyQ


If you love ballet, please check out my season of outstanding ballet trips by clicking here.

GET MORE BALLET OUT OF LIFE WITH TOURS EN L'AIR

Use the buttons below to share this post on facebook, twitter, by email, or other social media.
Follow me 
on twitter: @thewordlady
on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katherine.barber.37
You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.
Privacy policy: we will not sell, rent, or give your name or address to anyone. You can unsubscribe at any point
 "Christopher Wheeldon's new three-act version of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale is a triumph. It is contemporary and classical, traditional and modern, narrative and abstract. It feels like something entirely new. It is this profound emotional trajectory that Wheeldon catches so brilliantly. He deals with the complexities of the story with great confidence – each moment is absolutely clear. But the reason that The Winter's Tale makes such a superb ballet is that ... the great arc from abject despair to reconciliation is traced in movement that attains its own poetry. In charting this poignant story, Wheeldon is much assisted by designs by Bob Crowley which bring wonderful, dense colour and fluid, powerful settings to every scene; the action switches from the dark Sicilian court to the wonder of Bohemia, with a great green tree hung with glitter, with fluent beauty." (The Daily Telegraph)

"The linchpin of the staging is Edward Watson's portrayal of Leontes and his descent into a nightmare of jealousy and manic suspicions, which must give the narrative its momentum. Watson is superb, his body contorted by shapes entirely revelatory, his anger and his anguish in Wheeldon's imagery profoundly disquieting, and ever inviting of understanding... The staging is a visual triumph, potent, evocative, eye-delighting." (The Financial Times) 

"Christopher Wheeldon's striking new version of this Shakespeare piece crams everything you could want from a ballet into a single evening - comedy, tragedy, romance, drama and some lovely dancing. What's striking is the synthesis of dance, music and designs." (Evening Standard ) 

"Christopher Wheeldon rises to the challenge of translating Shakespeare into dance, creating one of most fully achieved story ballets to be staged at Covent Garden in years. Wheeldon has used this play to develop the most expressive and inventive dance language we've yet seen from him. ... On a stage dominated by one magically illuminated, decorated tree, this act is pure dance, a seamless fusion of the folksy and the poetic, in which Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae are adorable pastoral lovers, and Valentino Zucchetti is the wittiest of shepherds." (The Guardian)