@BRB Cinderella on TV

David Bintley's fabulous new Cinderella with Birmingham Royal Ballet will be broadcast on British Columbia's Knowledge Network Wednesday, January 11, 9-11 pm Pacific Standard Time (ie starting at 6 pm Eastern Time). Repeats Thursday January 12 at 1 am. Outside BC, if you have Bell satellite TV, this is available on channel 268. Elisha Willis and Iain Mackay star, and the costumes by John Macfarlane are magnificent. Well worth watching!

Why the Sugar Plum Fairy has nothing to do with plums

Click here to find out what sugarplums really are.

Ballet Trivia Quiz Answer

The classic so-called “Giselle arms” crossed in front of the chest with the palms facing up, were in fact first used in La Sylphide by the most famous ballerina of the Romantic era, Marie Taglioni, who adopted this pose because

b) crossing her arms in front of her body disguised the fact that they were disproportionately long

Weekly Ballet Trivia Quiz

The classic so-called “Giselle arms” crossed in front of the chest with the palms facing up, were in fact first used in La Sylphide by the most famous ballerina of the Romantic era, Marie Taglioni, who adopted this pose because
a) while doing a pirouette with her arms in the classical position in front of her waist at one performance, she quickly had to cross them to avoid whacking her partner, who she realized was standing too close to her, and a reviewer praised it as beautiful choreography
b) crossing her arms in front of her body disguised the fact that they were disproportionately long
c) she felt it best conveyed the ethereal quality of a disembodied spirit
d) it was a secret signal to one of the wealthy patrons of the Paris Opera that she would meet him in her dressing room afterwards

Answer will be posted tomorrow.

Robert Tewsley book now available!

For all fans of Robert Tewsley, who danced with The National Ballet of Canada, Stuttgart Ballet, Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, and guested with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Rome Opera Ballet, Vienna State Ballet, Bavarian State Ballet, Ballet of La Scala and many others: a BOOK about him has come out today (bilingual English/ German), including over 200 pictures, many from his time in Canada! For immediate delivery you can order on www.verlag-koenigshausen-neumann.de/advanced_search_result.php?XTCsid=a73a7437fdd2cfad5a17f565efb3b0a8&keywords=tewsley&x=0&y=0, available very soon on amazon.

Ballet for the visually impaired @BRB - it can be done!

Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Birmingham Hippodrome recently joined forces on a fantastic initiative to make ballet accessible for the visually impaired. Read more about it by clicking here.

Duato's new Beauty live via internet

Nacho Duato's new Sleeping Beauty for the Mikhailovsky Ballet will be live-streamed on the internet, December 20th at 7 pm Russian time (1 pm Eastern standard time).
Cast:
Princess Aurora — Svetlana Zakharova
Prince Desire — Leonid Sarafanov
Lilac Fairy — Ekaterina Borchenko
Fairy Carabosse — Rishat Yulbarisov

http://www.mikhailovsky.ru/en/afisha/shows.html?date=2011-12-20&sh=926

NYCB performs Balanchine's Nutcracker on TV

New York City Ballet performing Balanchine's Nutcracker is on "Live from Lincoln Center" on PBS. Check www.pbs.org for local listings, but if you're in the Toronto area, here are the listings for our PBS stations:
Rogers Cable: WNED Buffalo Thursday December 15 @1130 pm (because so many little kids are awake wanting to watch a kiddies' ballet at that time of day!) and Sunday December 18 at 3 pm
Bell Satellite: WGBH Boston Thursday December 15th at 9 pm
                        KCTS Seattle Tuesday December 20th at 8 pm PST (ie 11 pm EST)

Great Nutcracker backstage video from Nat. Ballet of Canada

Here are some great backstage shots, featuring Tina Pereira as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Etienne Lavigne as Peter/The Prince

Ballet Trivia Quiz Answer

What event during a performance of Giselle was an important turning point in the career of Vaslav Nijinsky?

b) He refused to wear shorts over his tights, and the Maryinsky fired him.

Neumeier's Mermaid on TV

John Neumeier's The Little Mermaid (definitely not the Disney version!) will be broadcast this Friday, December 16 on PBS. Check www.pbs.org for details.

Weekly Ballet Trivia Quiz

What event during a performance of Giselle was an important turning point in the career of Vaslav Nijinsky?
a) He lost his mind during the mad scene and spent the rest of his life in an asylum.
b) He refused to wear shorts over his tights, and the Maryinsky fired him.
c) He tripped over his sword and cut his calf muscle, thereafter not being able to attain the elevation for which he was famous.
d) It was the first time Sergei Diaghilev saw him dance.

Answer will be posted tomorrow.

Heather Ogden and pointe shoes

Nice clip here, with footage of Guillaume Côté and Heather Ogden in the National Ballet of Canada's Nutcracker.

Dancebelt stuffing? Fun interview with Guillaume Côté

Check out this fun interview with Guillaume!
Don't forget, you can see him and the other Kings of the Dance, as well as New York City Ballet in some great Balanchine and Robbins, plus meet an NYCB dancer and more, on our trip to New York in February. Signup deadline is looming!

Funny and Clever intro to Modern Dance

Ever went to a modern or contemporary dance concert and felt completely lost? Gesel Mason (dancer) and Cheles Rhynes (narrator) offer this hilarious, but true, primer called "How to Watch a Modern Dance Concert or What in the Hell are They Doing on Stage?"

Celia Franca biography

“The Pursuit of Perfection: A Life of Celia Franca” written by Carol Bishop-Gwyn, launches Saturday December 10! This penetrating biography of Celia Franca, founder of The National Ballet of Canada, is the perfect book for anyone interested in dance, the arts or Canadian institutions. Meet the author at a book signing Saturday 2:30 to 3:30 pm at TheatreBooks (11 St Thomas St).

Ballet Trivia Quiz Answer

Most modern productions of Giselle follow the original in having a German Renaissance setting, which was chosen because

d) The Opera wanted to save money by reusing sets and costumes from other ballets

Weekly Ballet Trivia Quiz

Most modern productions of Giselle follow the original in having a German Renaissance setting, which was chosen because
a) the librettist Théophile Gautier felt it was the most romantic possible setting
b) other ballets set in the German Renaissance had been big moneymakers for the Opera
c) a wealthy patron of the Opera was a huge fan of the German Renaissance
d) The Opera wanted to save money by reusing sets and costumes from other ballets

Inspiring! Ballet for the blind, deaf, and mute

I just found this amazing photo gallery about the Association of Ballet and Arts for the Blind, in Sao Paulo. The association was founded by ballerina and physiotherapist Fernanda Bianchini in 1995, when she decided to teach classical ballet to the blind for free.

Jump! Pacific Northwest Ballet shows how

Great 3e etage trailer - Paris Opera Ballet dancers

I'm really enjoying this trailer from the 3e étage group (dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet). You can read my review of their performance at last year's Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur by clicking here.

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

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David Hallberg and Stephen Colbert

Don't miss David Hallberg on The Colbert Report next Wed, Dec 7, 11:30pm EST on Comedy Central.If you want to see David performing live, check out our trip to New York in February to see him and the other Kings of the Dance, PLUS New York City Ballet!

See the interview here (if you are in Canada):

and the dancing here: