Updated Master Performance Calendar for Ballet in Europe 2012-13

Please click here to see the new calendar: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/p/whats-on-in-ballet.html

50th anniversary of John Cranko’s "Romeo and Juliet" Gala

 The Stuttgart Ballet will celebrate the 50th anniversary of John Cranko’s "Romeo and Juliet"  with a star-studded gala performance on Dec. 2. Many former stars of the company will perform, among them four dancers from the original cast in 1962: Marcia Haydée (former Juliet) as Juliet’s nurse, Ray Barra (former Romeo) as Duke of Verona, Egon Madsen (former Paris) as Lorenzo and Georgette Tsinguirides, former Gypsy and, at 84 years of age, still a Gypsy. Also appearing: Birgit Keil as Lady Capulet, Melinda Witham as Lady Montague, Vladimir Klos as Lord Capulet, Robert Conn as Lord Montague, Yseult Lendvai and Sonia Santiago as Gypsies and Julia Krämer as Rosalind. The principal roles will be danced by Alicia Amatriain and Friedemann Vogel, with Marijn Rademaker, Filip Barankiewicz, Alexander Jones and Jason Reilly in further roles.
On the morning of the same day there will be a ballet talk with Marcia Haydée, Birgit Keil, Georgette Tsinguirides, Ray Barra, Vladimir Klos, Jürgen Rose and Reid Anderson about Cranko’s "Romeo and Juliet" which premiered in 1958 in Venice and in a revised version in Stuttgart on December 2nd, 1962.

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Brigitte Lefèvre retiring in 2014

Update 24 January 2013: Benjamin Millepied has been named as the new director. For more info click here:
http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2013/01/benjamin-millepied-new-director-of.html

An article in today's Le Figaro

In office since 1995, Brigitte Lefèvre, director of dance at the Paris Opera, will be retiring in 2014. Her successor could be appointed before the end of the year.While the director of the Paris Opera Ballet School is appointed by decree of the Council of Ministers, the  director of the Opera alone chooses the ballet's artistic director. This appointment procedure - "behind closed doors" according to some critics - will be applied for the first time. It was set up by Hugues Gall when he directed the Paris Opera between 1995 and 2004. He felt it necessary that the person in charge of the Opera should have a ballet artistic director completely on the same wavelength as him, since the ballet ensures a considerable part of the revenue needed for opera productions.Without knowing whether or not his contract as head of the Paris Opera will be renewed, Nicolas Joel intends to appoint the new director of the dance. "It is the prerogative of the Director of the Opera," he says, and I intend to exercise it. I will announce the name in March, at the season launch . Maybe even sooner: Brigitte Lefèvre has already completed the programming for the 2014-2015 season and wants to spare the company of 150 dancers the uncertainties of a succession campaign."Regarding dance, Nicolas Joel relies on Brigitte Lefèvre, who organized a change in continuity. The heir apparent is already on site, a ballet master already associated with the ballet artistic direction  for two years:  Laurent Hilaire, 50.  Shaped by Nureyev, chosen by choreographers, and long-time partner of Sylvie Guillem long partner, he is also a great ballet master. 
Creations downWithin the company, he has a considerable rival: Nicolas Le Riche, a powerful dancer with irresistible charisma and sensuality, who succeeded Laurent Hilaire as Guillem's partner. His expected retirement in late 2013-2014 at age 42 and a half , would coincide with Brigitte Lefèvre's departure will go, and thus he has no experience as a company director. The influential Philippe Villin, an investment banker and vice president of the Paris Opera's friends association  (Arop) is actively campaigning for him as a candidate. Hilaire's and Le Riche's artistic plans are not known..Is it desirable, however, that the company, which is considered the best in the world, should led by a dancer , bu familiar with the company's inner workings but devoid of any outside experience? After twenty years Lefèvre, should we not cast our net wider? Especially since, in the coming times of recession, the Ballet absolutely must be led by a strong-minded person. It is certain that the house and the coffers will be filled with the perennial and unending Swan Lakes and Nutcrackers, it needs more innovative challenges to keep momentum and brilliance.  . Already, from five or six new creations a year, this season we had two. The stakes are high, and merit a search for a new Nureyev who will be determined, shape a generation of young stars, invent original projects will boost the company permanently. But does he exist?The great dancers like Sylvie Guillem, Manuel Legris, who is currently resurrecting the Vienna State Ballet in superb fashion, and Eric Vu An, director of the Nice-Méditerrannée, must be invited to apply, as well as choreographers versed in classical dance like Benjamin Millepied  or Jean-Christophe Maillot. Abroad, you can also think of Forsythe, familiar with the company since 1987 and Ratmansky, former director of the Bolshoi. It is not necessary to be French to properly direct the ballet. Today, the model remains Nureyev. It is true he read Saint-Simon to try to understand the functioning of the Opera ...

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Another Scottish Ballet ballet fitness video

Port de Bras is inspired by 5 Tangos, one third of Scottish Ballet's Autumn Season 2012 .  Gyrotonics instructor Kate Menzies works with Dancers Victor Zarallo and Brenda Lee Grech in a workout which focuses on upper body and arm movements. This is the second in  a series. For the first one, Core de ballet, please click here: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2012/08/scottish-ballet-exercise-video.html

https://vimeo.com/50287636

Aurélie Dupont to retire in January 2014

The Paris Opera Ballet étoile has just announced in an interview with a Japanese dance magazine that her farewell performance will be in Manon with Josua Hoffalt sometime in January 2014. Here she is with Jean-Guillaume Bart:

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http://youtu.be/Pyf6TBJcfdY


http://youtu.be/jAsgOkfNzQw



http://youtu.be/MQORb3LcTJM



http://youtu.be/Uy6_v59tYjk



http://youtu.be/Z2gYOEzdVAs

More Cast changes for Mariinsky Cinderella at Kennedy Center

Casting has been changed again. For updated casting please click here.

You really can dance all night

As part of Toronto's Nuit Blanche, Saturday, September 29, 2012, you can learn 12 different dance styles, including a ballet barre taught by National Ballet of Canada First Soloist Jonathan Renna at 8 pm. Please note this event is held outdoors. Jonathan recommends dressing in layers with an extra pair of socks!

 Richmond Adelaide Centre, 111 Richmond Street West

 

All Together Now, 2012
Photo: Ömer K. Yükseker, dancers Kate Franklin and Robert Abubo

Suitable for all ages

All Together Now, 2012

Jeanne Holmes - Toronto, Canada

Dance

Built form and public space give rise to an ambient choreography that shapes and directs our urban experience in tangible ways. All Together Now brings the body in motion into the architecture of the city in an experiential collaboration. Like architecture, dance requires the creative manipulation of materials (in this case the body in motion) to compose a distinctive world.

Throughout each hour of the 12-hour span of the event, audience participants learn a different style of dance, coached by professional instructors from the field. From hip hop to Kathak to tai chi; each of the 12 styles of dance reflecting the urban and cultural landscape of our city. In this case the movement is the message.

Each hour will feature a different dance form and instructor, some with live music to accompany the class. Audience participation is required! Wear tights, dancing shoes or ghunghru depending on the schedule.

7pm – Family Flash MobStand Up DanceInstructor: Christy Stoeten

8pm – Ballet Barre classNational Ballet of CanadaInstructor: Jonathan Renna
Accompanist:  Richard Herriott

9pm – Bollywood & Bhangra DanceDivine Heritage ArtistryInstructor: Lopa Sarkar

10pm – Contemporary Centre classInstructor:  Bonnie Kim
Accompanist: Jake Oelrichs

11pm – Brazilian ZoukToronto Dance ZoukInstructors: Fernando Silva, Renata Lisa, Rosany Lisa

Midnight - House danceInstructors: Ofilio Portillo & Apolonia Velasquez
Music: DJ Sinbadinho

1 am– Cha Cha Instructor: Sharon Cai

2am - Hip HopInstructors: Mariano Abarca & Ofilio Portillo
Music: DJ Sinbadinho

3am – Capoeira Sinhá Bahia de Capoeira
Instructor: Soquete

4am – Krumping Instructor: Amadeus-Primal Marquez

5am – KhatakInstructor: Joanna de Souza

6am – Tai chi Fung Loy Kok Taoist Tai ChiInstructors:  Ron Rotteau, Joan Warren Carlson and Caitlin Traynor
Jeanne Holmes, Artistic Producer of the Canada Dance Festival, has been active in the Toronto performing arts scene for more than 20 years. Holmes was the Producing Director of Dancemakers and the Centre for Creation and the Artistic Director of World Moves, Harbourfront Centre’s international dance season. She is a committed member of the Canadian dance community, and currently serves on the CanDance Network Board and is the current chair of Dusk Dances, Toronto.

Richmond Adelaide Centre, 111 Richmond Street West

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Photos from Stars of the 21st Century gala

There's a lovely photo gallery from the recent Stars of the 21st century gala in Paris on Marc Haegeman's site: http://www.for-ballet-lovers-only.com/etoiles21-2012-2.html
Dancers: Hélène Bouchet and Thiago Bordin (Hamburg Ballet); Victoria Jaiani and Fabrice Calmels (Joffrey Ballet); Jason Janas and  Jumaane Taylor (New York Tap Stars); Julien Lestel and Gilles Porte (Compagnie Julien Lestel); Aki Saito and Wim Vanlessen (Royal Ballet of Flanders); Iana Salenko (Berlin State Ballet) and Vladimir Shklyarov (Mariinsky Ballet); Polina Semionova (American Ballet Theatre) and Dmitry Semionov (Berlin State Ballet); Rasta Thomas; Svetlana Zakharova and Andrei Merkuriev (Bolshoi Ballet).

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PNB Cinderella reviews

Reviews of Pacific Northwest Ballet's current run of Cinderella

Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times:
http://seattletimes.com/html/thearts/2019248406_pnb25.html

Seattle Dances blog:
http://seattledances.blogspot.ca/2012/09/pnb-lives-happily-ever-after-with.html

Northwest Military.com
http://www.northwestmilitary.com/installations/explore/2012/09/PNBs-Cinderella-ballet-a-thrill-for-all-ages/

The Sunbreak
http://thesunbreak.com/2012/09/24/pnbs-cinderella-knows-how-to-dress-for-the-ball/

Seattle Pi
http://blog.seattlepi.com/feetfirst/2012/09/25/pnbs-cinderella/ 

Helene Kaplan, Danceviewtimes (http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2012/09/cinderella-in-seattle.html)

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Open House at Alberta Ballet

THE NAT CHRISTIE BUILDING (ALBERTA BALLET)

Alberta Ballet welcomes visitors into our home, the historic Nat Christie Centre, during Doors Open YYC. Find out how we turned an antique train station into a hub for the arts.  During your tour of our creative studio, you'll step into our wardrobe and get an up close look at the detail and care put into our costumes, as well as why each pair of pointe shoes is as unique as our dancers. As you learn more about Alberta's ballet company, you'll discover why performing art is not just a job or place—it is a way of life.
The Nat Christie Centre:  Designed with a “boomtown baroque” classical facade and style reminiscent of French Canadian architecture, the building was originally used as St. Mary’s parish hall. Erected in 1905 at a cost of $14,304, it housed social, theatrical and athletic activities, as well as regular day classes for Catholic students from 1907-1910.
In 1911, the Canadian Northern Railway purchased the building for $60,000 and utilized it for train transportation; the original tracks can still be seen outside the building heading south.

The City of Calgary acquired the building in 1978 and called for proposals to save it as a heritage site. In 1985, the building was vandalized - burned to a skeleton and for years stood vacant behind a heavy wooden fence.
The Alberta Ballet, looking for a home, undertook the rehabilitation project with help from the Nat Christie Foundation.  No detail was spared to ensure an accurate historical restoration of the building.

Saturday September 29
10 am to 4 pm
Last Entry: 3:45 pm

Sunday September 30
10 am to 4 pm
Last Entry: 3:45 pm

141 - 18th Avenue SW, T2S OB8
www.albertaballet.com

NOTE:  Stairs at the main entrance - handicap access through side door in parking lot but there is an approximate 3 inch step up onto the boardwalk to reach the side door. High heels are not recommended on the boardwalk.

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Ballets Wusses or: Adventures with my spellchecker

For the past few weeks I've been preparing a ballet appreciation course I'm calling Fokine, Nijinsky, and the Ballets Russes 1900-1920. It's a huge topic, but I've almost finished and thought I should run my spellchecker over my presentation. Suffice to say, my spellchecker's acquaintance with ballet history is shaky. Here are some of its hilarious suggested replacements for things it didn't recognize:

for Ballets Russes: a choice between Ballets Pusses, Ballets Cusses, and Ballet Wusses

for Marie Rambert: Marie Camembert

for Le Sacre du printemps: Le sucre du printouts

for Bronislava Nijinska: bronchitis hijinks

for Vaslav: Vaseline

for Karsavina: laborsaving (?)

for Bakst: baksheesh

for Petrushka: petrochemical

for Kschessinska: hairdressing  (??!!!)  or chessboard (??)

for divertissement: diverticulitis (ouch!)

for danseur: dangerous

for Mariinsky: marinade

but the all-time winner has to be poor Fokine:
kookiness, smokiness, Fokker or... foreskin (its "most likely" correction). Yikes!


I am offering the same course this fall. For more info please click here:
http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2017/02/ballet-appreciation-course-fokine.html

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Scottish Ballet live streams 5 Tangos rehearsal

Broadcasting live from Company rehearsal!

Tune in at 12.30pm (7:30 am Eastern Time in North America) Wednesday 26 September when we will be broadcasting live from the Peter Darrell Studio. Join us for a sneaky peek of 5 Tangos, a brand new addition to Scottish Ballet's repertoire and one third of the Autumn Season 2012 triple bill. Scottish Ballet's new Artistic Director Christopher Hampson will lead us through the rehearsal, giving an insight into 5 Tangos. This will be followed by a Q&A session in which you will have the opportunity to put your questions to our Artistic Director  - don't miss this exclusive opportunity to quiz Christopher on Scottish Ballet's Autumn Season. Get in early - you can send us your questions NOW via Facebook and Twitter  #SBAutumnSeason. Click here on September 26 to watch Scottish Ballet's dancers in action! 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.

Ballet Jorgen Canada Swan Lake

I was pleased to be invited to Ballet Jorgen Canada's 25th Anniversary launch party. Kudos to the company and its Director, Swedish-born Bengt Jorgen, for surviving and thriving so long. It is a small company, typically having fewer than 20 dancers, although this year it has been able to expand with the addition of apprentices to 24. Its small size allows it to bring live ballet to smaller communities and smaller theatres to which the larger companies cannot tour, and more power to them! According to Jorgen, the two technologies without which the company could not have survived were the PC and the minivan! They rely on scaled-down versions (never longer than 2 hours) of the large story ballets choreographed by Jorgen himself, but also promote new creations of a contemporary repertoire. Jorgen proudly stated that every single ballet in the repertoire was created on the company rather than bought in ready made. He also paid tribute to Arnold Spohr, longtime director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, who provided Jorgen with a great deal of support in the early years, and to Linda Stearns, long associated with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, whose no-nonsense approach contributed a lot to the company before her untimely death.
He talked about how he had long dreamed of doing his own version of Swan Lake, knowing that the music would not fail to inspire his dancers through the numerous performances they have to do on their packed touring schedule. They will be visiting over 30 communities with the new production over the next months (for the full schedule, click here).
Jorgen wanted to follow in the tradition of his "Canadian-themed"  Nutcracker, which is set in Algonquin Park in Northern Ontario, uses Group of Seven paintings to inspire its decor, and includes dances for loons and racoons in place of the usual Land of the Sweets divertissements,



This Swan Lake will be set in the fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, during the time of the French regime. This accounts for Siegfried appearing at the lake with a very large rifle rather than the traditional crossbow. I was intrigued to know how the Spanish and Hungarian dancers' presence in 18th-century Acadia would be accounted for in the storyline, but for the answer I will have to wait to see the complete production.



As part of the celebrations we saw some excerpts from the new production: Rothbart and his henchmen in Act II, followed by the white swan pas de deux and the cygnets (essentially the traditional Ivanov choreography in both cases, with a scaled-down corps of 8 swans), then from Act III the jester's solo, the Spanish dance and czardas (a pas de trois) and Siegfried's solo.The company was showing off their new (and first) Resident Guest Artist, Grigory Popov, a coryphee with the Mariinsky Ballet. His double cabrioles in the Act III solo were most impressive, and he had a certain expansiveness to his movement that was evident even in the cramped confines of the small studio further limited by four rows of seating for the audience. I assume he is here for the full year. Also impressive as the Jester was Gustavo Hernandez, whose Cuban origins were not in doubt as his elevation in jumps and "spin and grin" turns made the audience gasp. Saniya Abilmajineva made a lovely Odette. If Ballet Jorgen comes to a community near you with this Swan Lake, it's definitely worth a look. It opens this coming Friday at the Flato Theatre in Markham, just outside Toronto.





For a photo gallery, click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/84440642@N07/show/

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National Ballet of Canada Choreographic Lab

I was pleased to attend this year's NBOC Choreographic Lab (previously known as the Choreographic Workshop and held every 2 years) last night. This gives the company's dancers the opportunity to create and be created upon. They managed to squeeze rehearsals into their lunch hours and occasional short breaks, despite an extraordinarily hectic schedule at the NBOC at the moment as the company prepares to take Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland  to Los Angeles in October before a long run in Toronto, followed by a run of Giselle, which the company has not performed for a few years. Also on their menu has been learning Neuemeier's Nijinsky, so kudos to everyone for finding the time and the energy to do this. Robert Stephen commented that in addition to giving him more choreographic experience, the process also informed how he approached his daily work as a dancer, and so he felt that it was an extraordinarily useful investment for the company (the labs are underwritten by donors Lucille and Urban Joseph). The four pieces were very different but equally enjoyable.
Robert's was the first piece on the program, Acoustic Resonance set to the adagio movement of Beethoven's Piano Trio Opus 11. He explained how he was inspired by his aunt, whose husband had died quite suddenly of cancer last year but still felt his presence quite physically with her every day.  The two dancers, Nadine Drouin and Nan Wang, danced together and apart, her hands often framing his face and then drawn away in the same position to suggest his physical absence still resonating in her memory.
Here's an interview with Robert at the time he was choreographing a piece for the Erik Bruhn competition


and rehearsal footage from In the Cantina, a piece he choreographed in 2010:



Next was Christopher Stalzer's Framework, set to a cello piece by Mark O'Connor, Appalachia Waltz. Stalzer said he aimed to reflect the deep dark tones of the cello in his piece, and it did indeed reflect the musicality, with dancers Tiffany Mosher (in a long black dress) and Patrick Lavoie (barechested in black pants) sweeping along to its phrases.

Robert Binet, who is not a dancer in the NBOC but a graduate of Canada's National Ballet School and currently choreographic apprentice at the Royal Ballet, provided Incident and Repose to Mompou's Musica Callada. In his notes, he said he wanted to create the impression that the dance had started before the music and continued on after it finished, a reflection of the composer's score, in which each section does not finish with the traditional double-bar line (signifying "end") but with a tied note where the tie extends beyond the bar line. I continue to be impressed by Binet's choreography, which I have followed since he was a student, and since he is still only 20, he holds a bright promise for the future. He is also currently choreographing works for Random Dance, Ballet Black, and the National Ballet of Estonia, and has created pieces for Germany's National Youth Ballet in Hamburg (for an example, please click here: https://vimeo.com/48232427). The NBOC piece, danced by Ji Min Hong and Jonathan Davidsson in Balanchinesque black-and-white, was true to Binet's neoclassical style with a strong flair for interesting partnering and movement. My planned ballet trip to London in February will include the Ballet Black performance. Click here for more info.

Finally, Dylan Tedaldi created Tic to various musical pieces spliced with voiceover from the dancers. Tedaldi said that this creation was a departure from his usual choreographic practice in which he strives in the studio to have the dancers recreate exactly what he has in his head. In this case, however, he started by asking the four dancers (Skylar Campbell, Jordana Daumec, Shaila d'Onofrio, and Shino Mori) what their nervous tic was when they were younger, and then incorporated that movement into a solo dance for each which was then taken up by the others . One shook her head from side to side, another bit her nails, a third jiggled his leg nervously.  This all worked much better and more entertainingly than that bald description makes it sound! Here's a young Dylan competing in the Prix de Lausanne 4 years ago:



In short, all of these are young talents to watch.

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Profile of Svetlana Zakharova on CNN

CNN's "Human to Hero" features Bolshoi ballerina Svetlana Zakharova. Includes print article, video, and slideshow. Click here: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/21/world/europe/svetlana-zakharova-bolshoi-ballet-dancer/index.html

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How dancing helps us age better

A fascinating article in the Huffington Post about the benefits of the arts, but especially dance, as we age:

“The evidence says that participation in dance programs reduces the rate of development of dementia by maybe 75 percent,” says neuroscientist Peter Davies of New York’s Albert Einstein Medical Center. “There is no drug around or even on the horizon that can reduce the rate of development of Alzheimer’s disease by 75 percent.”
“Arts that combine physical as well as mental acuity are the best in terms of keeping the aging mind going,” Richman says, which is why dance appears to have such potent benefits.

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History of the word "ballotté"

Ballet dictionaries and ballet teachers will tell you that the word "ballotté" comes from the French word meaning "to toss". Then almost immediately both are likely to adjure you not to pay attention to this, because the word "toss" implies carelessness while of course, like all ballet, a ballotté requires a lot of control. Some French dictionaries point out that ballotter is used to describe a boat being tossed about on the waves and suggest that ballottés are called this because their rocking motion is like the heaving and rolling of a ship.
But if you dig a little deeper into the origin of the French word, you discover something that might be more helpful. Ballotter comes from the word balle (ball -the spherical object, not the assembly for dancing) and originally was used to describe the movement of hitting a ball back and forth in the medieval version of tennis. I  think this is a much better description of a ballotté. If you think of the pointed foot being a tennis ball, you can almost hear the "thwock" as it gets sent back and forth over the centre line.

Here are Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov doing some beautiful ballottés  -- not to mention all the other steps they do beautifully! -- in Giselle (starting at 5:20 and again at 8:20)
(If you are receiving this post by email, click here for the video.)

For the history of the word "adage", click here.
For the history of the word "entrechat", click here. 

For "fouetté", click here. 
For "bourrée", click here. 
For "pirouette", click here, and to find out what dancing has to do with falling over, click here.

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Ivan Vasiliev named Principal at ABT

Ivan Vasiliev Named Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre

by American Ballet Theatre on Monday, September 17, 2012 at 3:59pm ·

9/17/2012 - Ivan Vasiliev, principal dancer with the Mikhailovsky Ballet, has been named a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre, effective immediately, it was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. He is scheduled to perform during the 2013 Metropolitan Opera House season and on ABT's national and international tours.

Born in Vladivostok, Russia, Vasiliev studied at the Dnepropetrovsk Ballet School in Ukraine and later at the Belarusian State Choreographic College in Minsk, graduating in 2006.

In 2006 he was invited to join the Bolshoi Ballet as a soloist, making his debut with the company as Basilio in Don Quixote. He was promoted to the rank of principal dancer in May 2010. Vasiliev's repertoire with the Bolshoi includes the title role in Spartacus, the Nutcracker-Prince in The Nutcracker, Colas in Sir Frederick Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardée, Solor and The Golden Idol in La Bayadère, Conrad and the pas d'esclaves in Le Corsaire, Philippe in Alexei Ratmansky's The Flames of Paris, Acteon in Yuri Burlaka's La Esmeralda, The Young Man in Roland Petit's Le Jeune Homme et la Mort and featured roles in Christopher Wheeldon's Misericordes and Asaf Messerer's Class Concert.

Vasiliev has appeared as a guest artist with the International Rudolf Nureyev Festival in Kazan and the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater. Since 2009 he has been a member of the cast of Kings of the Dance. In December 2011 he joined the Mikhailovsky Ballet as a principal dancer.

His awards include the Bronze medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition (2004), the Gold medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition (2005), the Gold medal at the Arabesque-96 Ballet Competition in Perm (2006), and the Grand Prix - Varna International Ballet Competition (2006). He is also the winner of the Triumph Youth prize (2006), British Critics' Circle National Dance Awards in the category 'Spotlight' (2008) and as Best Male Dancer (2010), and the Benois de la Danse prize for his performance in Le Corsaire and The Flames of Paris (2009). In 2011 he received Grand Prix at the International Dance Open Festival.

Vasiliev first appeared as a Guest Artist with American Ballet Theatre in 2011. His repertoire with ABT includes Solor in La Bayadère, Pyotr in The Bright Stream, Franz in Coppélia, Ali, the Slave in Le Corsaire and the Flames of Paris pas de deux.    

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Ivan Vasiliev in "La Bayadère." Photo by Rosalie O'Connor.

February 2013 Ballet trip to London

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

London, England

20-28 February 2013

9 days, 8 nights

5 performances by the

Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, and Birmingham Royal Ballet

PLUS a treat for lovers of Jane Austen!

Wed. 20 February: LONDON

Arrive London; check in to the Strand Palace Hotel, 5 minutes walk from the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.

Thurs. 21 February: LONDON

(day trip to BIRMINGHAM)

Transfer by private coach directly from hotel to Birmingham (1 ½ hours). 3-course lunch. Matinee performance of Birmingham Royal Ballet: Aladdin (choreography by David Bintley). Coach returns directly to hotel in London.

Fri. 22 February: LONDON

Day at leisure. Evening: 3-course dinner before Royal Ballet mixed program: Apollo (Balanchine), world premieres by Alexei Ratmansky and Christopher Wheeldon.

Sat. 23 February: LONDON

Day at leisure. Afternoon: Optional second performance of Royal Ballet Balanchine/ Wheeldon/Ratmansky program. Evening: Royal Ballet all-Ashton program: Voices of Spring, Monotones 1 & 2, La Valse, Thaïs Pas de Deux, Marguerite and Armand. 
 

Sun. 24 February: LONDON

Day at leisure. Optional day trip to Oxford with walking tour of the colleges.

Mon. 25 February: LONDON

Day at leisure. Suggested activity: visit the theatre collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum or the special Manet exhibition at the Royal Academy.

Tues. 26 February: LONDON

(day trip to WINCHESTER AND SOUTHAMPTON)

Transfer by private coach directly from hotel to Chawton, Hampshire (1 ½ hours). Visit the Jane Austen house museum. Continue on to Winchester (30 minutes). Guided tour of Winchester Cathedral. Continue to Southampton (30 minutes). 3-course dinner before evening performance of English National Ballet: The Sleeping Beauty (Petipa/MacMillan). Coach returns directly from theatre to hotel (90 minutes).

Wed. 27 February: LONDON

Midday: Backstage tour of Royal Opera House. Afternoon: Visit to the Royal Ballet School (to be confirmed). Evening: Farewell dinner, followed by Ballet Black mixed program: repertoire TBA, includes a piece by Canadian choreographer Rob Binet.

Thurs. 28 February LONDON

Check out of hotel and depart London. (You may extend your stay if you wish).

OPTIONAL EXTENSION

Thurs. 28 February: LONDON

(day trip to HIGH WYCOMBE)

Morning at leisure. Afternoon transfer by train to High Wycombe (45 minutes). Performance of

Matthew Bourne's New Adventures: The Sleeping Beauty (Bourne). Return by train to London.

Total Package CA$2599 per person

based on double occupancy

Single supplement: CA$300

All prices valid till 3 November 2012

REGISTRATION AND DEPOSIT DUE DATE:

3 NOVEMBER 2012

LAND-ONLY PACKAGE allows you the flexibility of arranging travel from your most convenient departure point, and extending your stay if you wish. Carlson Wagonlit Victor Travel's experienced agents will be happy to assist you.

To register or for more information, contact

Katherine Barber

416.693.4496 toursenlair@gmail.com

Package price includes:

8 nights twin share accommodation with daily hot and cold buffet breakfast in the centrally located 3-star Strand Palace Hotel (travellers wishing to share will be put in touch with one another)

Four 3-course meals

Centre orchestra seats for 4 performances; upper gallery seating for Ballet Black performance

Guided tour of the Royal Opera House

Free wi-fi in hotel room

Day excursion by private coach to Chawton, Winchester, and Southampton

Visit to the Jane Austen House Museum

Guided tour of Winchester Cathedral

Day excursion by private coach to Birmingham

Visit to the Royal Ballet School

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

All taxes, service fees, and surcharges

Not included:

Airfare

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

Meals and transfers not specifically mentioned in this itinerary; optional activities in this itinerary

Beverages with meals

Cancellation and hospital/medical insurance

Terms and Conditions:

Non-refundable initial deposit of CA$1000 per person is required at time of registration, no later than 3 November2012, to secure your space for this package**.

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

Final payment due 4 January 2013, 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.

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

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

Below are video snippets to whet your appetite for the ballets on the program:
Ashton, Voices of Spring:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQka5FcDBTc



Ashton, Thais pas de deux:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg32NInmVWc




Ashton, Monotones II:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXKPglqs3B8




Bintley, Aladdin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW7i0MXuZTM



I have seen the complete Aladdin on video, and it is a lot of fun with an absolutely fabulous "Aladdin's Cave" set of divertissements


English National Ballet's Sleeping Beauty (staged by Kenneth MacMillan):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCEnH75JvrM

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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