For a great interview with Herman, please click here:
http://dancetabs.com/2012/11/interview-herman-cornejo-american-ballet-theatre-principal/
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Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Video: Herman Cornejo in Spectre de la Rose
We've been talking in my Ballets Russes course about the sensational impact caused by Nijinsky's performance in Spectre de la Rose and how this became his signature piece, especially his famous jump out the window at the end. Frankly, most of the performances I've seen of this ballet left me wondering what all the fuss was about, but then I saw this video of Herman Cornejo, whose elevation and ballon are exemplary, and whose final jump is truly gasp-inducing.
For a great interview with Herman, please click here:
http://dancetabs.com/2012/11/interview-herman-cornejo-american-ballet-theatre-principal/
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For a great interview with Herman, please click here:
http://dancetabs.com/2012/11/interview-herman-cornejo-american-ballet-theatre-principal/
Monday, October 29, 2012
Anna Pavlova as silent movie star
In 1916, Anna Pavlova starred in a silent-movie remake of the 19th century ballet The Dumb Girl of Portici (La Muette de Portici). The film has recently been restored. Here's an interesting account.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/10/silent-thunder-anna-pavlova-on-film.html
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http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/10/silent-thunder-anna-pavlova-on-film.html
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Sunday, October 28, 2012
Video: Royal Danish Ballet's Golden Cockerel
A fabled fairytale ballet about love, war – and a golden cockerel
Alexei Ratmansky has restaged the folkloric fairytale ballet, which satirises King Dodon and his bumbling conniving against the Queen of Shemakha, whom he believes is preparing an attack. The cockerel screeches “Danger, beware,” and the ravishing queen seduces the king, who is seriously taken for a ride.
The sets and costumes, designed by frequent Ratmansky collaborator Richard Hudson, are inspired by the original Ballets Russes designs by Natalia Goncharova.
For a review, click here.
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Saturday, October 27, 2012
A visit to the National Ballet of Canada wardrobe department
Every time I have the great pleasure of visiting the National Ballet's outstanding wardrobe department, I am struck with awe at the incredible talent and devotion of the people who work there. This week, at the gracious invitation of Marjory Fielding, the NBOC's head of wardrobe, I was able to accompany the group who are taking my "Fokine, Nijinsky, and Diaghilev's Ballets Russes" ballet appreciation course to see what was going on as the wardrobe works on the mammoth task of building John Neumeier's Nijinsky, which the NBOC will be performing next March.
This ballet is designed by the choreographer, but also recreates many of the famous designs from the original Ballets Russes ballets in which Nijinsky performed: Afternoon of a Faun, Petrushka, Les Sylphides, Jeux, Spectre de la Rose, among others.
In this clip from the Hamburg Ballet production, we see Nijinsky and his wife Romola, with Nijinsky doubled by another dancer who depicts Nijinsky as the Faun (the roles performed by identical twin brothers Jiri and Otto Bubenicek).
The Faun is wearing a headpiece which is an exact replica of the one worn in the original production. We saw this headpiece under construction in the NBOC millinery shop, a painstaking job requiring the weaving of yards and yards of a type of gold piping called soutache:
One of the challenges for a wardrobe department is sourcing the fabric and notions they need for their costumes. Finding this one was apparently particularly difficult; it was finally tracked down at a company in Montreal that supplies for military uniforms, but... it costs $5 a yard. And many yards are needed.
Marjory pointed out that creating the headpiece took a very long time, much of it spent figuring out how exactly to do it (since ballet costume designs do not come with IKEA-like instruction booklets!). And then a second backup headpiece has to be made as well. The headpiece that we saw was a beautiful bright shiny gold, but it needs to look less bright, so it will have to be painted to get the exact colour. The milliner will also be busy making turban-like headdresses for the society ladies of 1919 attending Nijinsky's last performance.
These society ladies wear stunningly elegant dresses, white or cream with incorporated black jackets in different fabrics, one of them a beautiful cut velvet in a pattern like this:
and others decorated with beading, sequins or applique. Some of the dresses are "antique pleated" which requires wetting the silk, rolling it up into a tight cylinder which is then hung to dry with a weight attached. This creates a ripple effect like this:
Needless to say, with repeated wearing, these pleats will come out and the piece will have to go through the pleating process again. But this attention to detail is what ensures the authentic look of the characters in the ballet..
Attention to detail was also evident in the bodice of the Les Sylphides costume for Tamara Karsavina. Instead of using a Sylphides costume from the National Ballet's storage, chief cutter Ruth Bartel noticed that in the Victoria and Albert Museum's stunning companion volume to their "Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes" exhibit, the picture of the actual costume had a kind of mesh over the bodice and floaty cap sleeves, so they recreated the original costume from 1909.
Ruth also showed us how she had devised a way to make the cream jersey dresses for Jeux (supposed to be tennis attire) all one piece so that they could be changed out of more quickly.
Getting the exact colour is an obsession for Fielding, who is a master dyer. We saw piles of fabric in bright colours, reflecting the love of intense hues for which the most famous Ballets Russes designer, Leon Bakst, was renowned. They looked fine to us, but no, Marjory explained, they needed to be dyed to get the exactly right colour. "And it's polyester," she said ruefully. Polyester doesn't take dye as well as silk, but costs have to be trimmed somehow in such an enormous undertaking. Marjory had also been dyeing the petals for the Spectre de la Rose costume.
Silk, so favoured by designers for its fluid qualities and ability to shimmer, was, however, on view elsewhere. The costumes of the Afternoon of a Faun nymphs are made in an extraordinarily diaphanous silk tulle (dyed gold), a fabric not intended to stand up to the wear and tear of performing. Extra costumes will have to be made lest one comes to an unhappy end.
When I see the amount of talent, creativity, and hard work that these unsung artists put into making the designer's vision come to life, while considering the practical issues (the costumes have to be danced in, and sometimes a very quick change from one costume to another is required), I think about how we all know the names of the famous designers of Diaghilev's ballets: Bakst, Benois, Roerich, but we know nothing of the anonymous seamstresses, cutters, milliners, and jewelry makers without whom those designs would have remained just pictures on paper. The people in the wardrobe department deserve our bravos just as much as the dancers and choreographers do.
Next week I am off to the NBOC's set and prop production workshop
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This ballet is designed by the choreographer, but also recreates many of the famous designs from the original Ballets Russes ballets in which Nijinsky performed: Afternoon of a Faun, Petrushka, Les Sylphides, Jeux, Spectre de la Rose, among others.
In this clip from the Hamburg Ballet production, we see Nijinsky and his wife Romola, with Nijinsky doubled by another dancer who depicts Nijinsky as the Faun (the roles performed by identical twin brothers Jiri and Otto Bubenicek).
The Faun is wearing a headpiece which is an exact replica of the one worn in the original production. We saw this headpiece under construction in the NBOC millinery shop, a painstaking job requiring the weaving of yards and yards of a type of gold piping called soutache:
One of the challenges for a wardrobe department is sourcing the fabric and notions they need for their costumes. Finding this one was apparently particularly difficult; it was finally tracked down at a company in Montreal that supplies for military uniforms, but... it costs $5 a yard. And many yards are needed.
Marjory pointed out that creating the headpiece took a very long time, much of it spent figuring out how exactly to do it (since ballet costume designs do not come with IKEA-like instruction booklets!). And then a second backup headpiece has to be made as well. The headpiece that we saw was a beautiful bright shiny gold, but it needs to look less bright, so it will have to be painted to get the exact colour. The milliner will also be busy making turban-like headdresses for the society ladies of 1919 attending Nijinsky's last performance.
These society ladies wear stunningly elegant dresses, white or cream with incorporated black jackets in different fabrics, one of them a beautiful cut velvet in a pattern like this:
and others decorated with beading, sequins or applique. Some of the dresses are "antique pleated" which requires wetting the silk, rolling it up into a tight cylinder which is then hung to dry with a weight attached. This creates a ripple effect like this:
Needless to say, with repeated wearing, these pleats will come out and the piece will have to go through the pleating process again. But this attention to detail is what ensures the authentic look of the characters in the ballet..
Attention to detail was also evident in the bodice of the Les Sylphides costume for Tamara Karsavina. Instead of using a Sylphides costume from the National Ballet's storage, chief cutter Ruth Bartel noticed that in the Victoria and Albert Museum's stunning companion volume to their "Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes" exhibit, the picture of the actual costume had a kind of mesh over the bodice and floaty cap sleeves, so they recreated the original costume from 1909.
Ruth also showed us how she had devised a way to make the cream jersey dresses for Jeux (supposed to be tennis attire) all one piece so that they could be changed out of more quickly.
Getting the exact colour is an obsession for Fielding, who is a master dyer. We saw piles of fabric in bright colours, reflecting the love of intense hues for which the most famous Ballets Russes designer, Leon Bakst, was renowned. They looked fine to us, but no, Marjory explained, they needed to be dyed to get the exactly right colour. "And it's polyester," she said ruefully. Polyester doesn't take dye as well as silk, but costs have to be trimmed somehow in such an enormous undertaking. Marjory had also been dyeing the petals for the Spectre de la Rose costume.
Silk, so favoured by designers for its fluid qualities and ability to shimmer, was, however, on view elsewhere. The costumes of the Afternoon of a Faun nymphs are made in an extraordinarily diaphanous silk tulle (dyed gold), a fabric not intended to stand up to the wear and tear of performing. Extra costumes will have to be made lest one comes to an unhappy end.
When I see the amount of talent, creativity, and hard work that these unsung artists put into making the designer's vision come to life, while considering the practical issues (the costumes have to be danced in, and sometimes a very quick change from one costume to another is required), I think about how we all know the names of the famous designers of Diaghilev's ballets: Bakst, Benois, Roerich, but we know nothing of the anonymous seamstresses, cutters, milliners, and jewelry makers without whom those designs would have remained just pictures on paper. The people in the wardrobe department deserve our bravos just as much as the dancers and choreographers do.
Next week I am off to the NBOC's set and prop production workshop
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MORE BALLET OUT OF LIFE WITH TOURS EN L'AIR
Friday, October 26, 2012
Video: Balanchine ballets from Kennedy Center now available
The Suzanne Farrell Ballet live stream from yesterday has now been archived and is available by clicking here.
Divertimento #15, Diamonds pas de deux, Slaughter on 10th Avenue.
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Divertimento #15, Diamonds pas de deux, Slaughter on 10th Avenue.
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Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Photos of Robert Binet's new piece for Ballet Black
Young Canadian choreographer and Royal Ballet Choreographic Apprentice Rob Binet is working on a new piece to be premiered by Ballet Black in February. The premiere will be part of my planned Tours en l'air trip to England now booking (deadline November 3, please click here for more info).
Ballet Black has posted rehearsal pics to their facebook page.
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Ballet Black has posted rehearsal pics to their facebook page.
If
you love ballet, please check out my season of outstanding ballet
trips by clicking here.
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Video: Petipa and pith helmets: Royal Danish Ballet's new Bayadere
An account of Royal Danish Ballet's new staging of La Bayadere, set in India in the days of the Raj. Fascinating!
http://www.dancetabs.com/2012/10/works-process-at-the-guggenheim-royal-danish-ballets-new-la-bayadere-new-york/
and another one:
http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2012/10/india-comes-to-copenhagen.html
You can see the video of the event here:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/26350972
For a video trailer, please click here:
http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2012/11/video-royal-danish-ballet-bayadere.html
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http://www.dancetabs.com/2012/10/works-process-at-the-guggenheim-royal-danish-ballets-new-la-bayadere-new-york/
and another one:
http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2012/10/india-comes-to-copenhagen.html
You can see the video of the event here:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/26350972
For a video trailer, please click here:
http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2012/11/video-royal-danish-ballet-bayadere.html
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MORE BALLET OUT OF LIFE WITH TOURS EN L'AIR
Casting Bolshoi Live Broadcast The Pharaoh's Daughter
Here's the wacko storyline for The Pharaoh's Daughter, Petipa's first big success after moving to Russia. This version is a reconstruction by Pierre Lacotte. (casting further down):
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The casting for the live broadcast on November 25 is:
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Synopsis
Act I
Scene 1A young Englishman, Lord Wilson, is traveling through Egypt with his servant, John Bull. At the foot of a pyramid they meet a caravan of Arab merchants who kindly invite them into their tent.
Suddenly, a very powerful storm gets up and the travelers and merchants hurry to take shelter in the nearest pyramid.
Scene 2The caretaker of the pyramid requests his uninvited guests not to make a noise and points to a tomb right at the back of the pyramid; in it lies Aspicia, the daughter of one of Egypt’s most powerful Pharaohs.
Settling down in a corner of the pyramid, the Arab merchants light up their opium pipes. Lord Wilson also asks for a chibouk... He falls asleep and soon all are wreathed in a light cloud of smoke.
Fantastic dreams now take form: the walls of the sepulchre disappear and the mummies come to life and leave their sarcophagi. After them comes Aspicia, their mistress, and daughter of the mighty Pharaoh. Bending over the Englishman, she lays her hand on his heart. At that very minute, a magical metamorphosis takes place: Lord Wilson and his servant become Egyptians. The former is called Taor, the latter — Passiphonte.
Enchanted by Aspicia’s beauty, Taor tries to follow her but the princess disappears in a limpid haze.
Scene 3Taor, and his servant Passiphonte, hurry off to the forest in search of Aspicia. They find her by a miracle, sleeping on a moss-covered rock. Nearby are her attendants, who are worn out by the intense heat.
Taor cautiously walks up to the Princess and places his hand on her heart. Aspicia wakes up and recognizes the handsome youth. Oblivious to everything around them, they gaze at each other.
In the distance, hunting horns can be heard. Aspicia asks Taor to hide. Ramze, her slave, who has noticed the stranger, tries to persuade her mistress to leave. The hunters appear and warn Aspicia that there is a lion in the forest: Aspicia goes off with the hunters in pursuit of the lion. The lion is surrounded but, suddenly, he breaks out of the ring of hunters and makes for the Princess. Taor who, from his hiding place, is following the scene with horror, seizes a bow, left behind by one of the hunters, and neatly lodges an arrow right in the lion’s heart. Aspicia is saved. She loses consciousness but Taor catches her before she falls and carries her off to a place of safety.
A fanfare of trumpets announces that the Pharaoh and his suite are approaching. Seeing his daughter in the arms of a stranger, the Pharaoh gives orders that the latter should be arrested. Coming to, Aspicia tells her father that Taor has saved her life and should be rewarded. The Pharaoh’s rage turns to gratitude. He orders that the youth be freed and invites him to his palace.
Act II
Scene 4Taor visits Aspicia in her sumptuous apartments and declares to her his love. The Pharaoh enters, surrounded by a brilliant suite of dignitaries and palace officials. They are followed by the King of Nubia who has come to ask for the hand of the Pharaoh’s daughter. The Egyptian potentate agrees to give his daughter in marriage to the King of Nubia and the two men sign a treaty of friendship.
Hearing of this, Taor is out of his mind with despair. Aspicia tries to calm him down and promises she will never belong to anyone except him.
The Pharaoh commands that the festivities to mark his daughter’s wedding should start. Full of sadness, Taor reminds Aspicia that soon she is to marry the King of Nubia. They decide to run away.
At the height of the festivities, Taor is handed the key to a secret door through which the couple make their escape from the palace.
The Pharaoh is furious when he hears of his daughter’s disappearance, and orders that the runaway couple should be apprehended. Noticing the secret door, the King of Nubia sets off, together with his bodyguards, in pursuit of Taor and Aspicia.
Act III
Scene 5Taor and Aspicia are hiding in a fisherman’s hut on the banks of the Nile. At nightfall, the fishermen get ready to go fishing and invite their guests to come too. Aspicia, who is tired, decides not to go. Taor advises her to rest and goes off with the fishermen.
No sooner has he departed, than the King of Nubia, accompanied by his bodyguards, enters the hut. Aspicia is only too well aware that her marriage to the King of Nubia will separate her forever from the man she loves. Therefore, to avoid being caught, she runs over to the window and throws herself into the Nile.
Meanwhile, Taor and Passiphonte come back into the hut. The King of Nubia orders that they should be seized and threatens them with revenge for having abducted Aspicia.
Scene 6The mighty God of the River Nile, the ruler of the underworld, gives Aspicia a warm welcome and recognizes her to be the daughter of the great Egyptian Pharaoh. But the young Princess has only one request — she wants to see Taor again. The God of the Nile fulfils her wish. In answer to his command Taor appears now at the top of a cliff, now in the limpid waters of waterfall. Longing to be reunited with her love one, Aspicia begs the ruler of the Nile to return her to dry land. The Nile God does as she bids.
Scene 7The Pharaoh’s palace. The ruler of Egypt is in despair. He demands that Taor be brought into his presence and threatens to kill him if the latter does not tell him where Aspicia is hiding. But Taor has no idea where the Princess is.
So the Pharaoh commands that the youth be condemned to death: he is to be bitten by a sacred snake. But at this very moment, the sounds of a joyful march can be heard in the distance: the fishermen have found Aspicia and are bringing her back to the palace.
The Princess throws herself into her father’s arms and tells him of her adventures, of her love for Taor and of how the King of Nubia threatened her and forced her to jump into the river. The Pharaoh tears up the treaty of friendship with the King of Nubia, and orders the latter to leave. Aspicia begs her father to give Taor his freedom, but the Pharaoh will not hear of it: he cannot forgive Taor for abducting his daughter. So then Aspicia declares that she is ready to die together with her loved one. And, going up to the sacred snake, she holds out her hand so that it will bite her. The Pharaoh rushes over to his daughter and holds her back. Touched by Aspicia’s selflessness and the depth of her feeling, he forgives Taor and gives his blessing to the young couple. At the height of the general rejoicing, the stage is enveloped in clouds.
Scene 8In place of the palace, a pyramid now appears again. Lord Wilson wakes up and looks round him in astonishment. In the far corner of the pyramid, he notices the tomb of the Pharaoh’s daughter. His face lights up with a radiant smile as he remembers the wonderful dream he has just had.
Scene 1A young Englishman, Lord Wilson, is traveling through Egypt with his servant, John Bull. At the foot of a pyramid they meet a caravan of Arab merchants who kindly invite them into their tent.
Suddenly, a very powerful storm gets up and the travelers and merchants hurry to take shelter in the nearest pyramid.
Scene 2The caretaker of the pyramid requests his uninvited guests not to make a noise and points to a tomb right at the back of the pyramid; in it lies Aspicia, the daughter of one of Egypt’s most powerful Pharaohs.
Settling down in a corner of the pyramid, the Arab merchants light up their opium pipes. Lord Wilson also asks for a chibouk... He falls asleep and soon all are wreathed in a light cloud of smoke.
Fantastic dreams now take form: the walls of the sepulchre disappear and the mummies come to life and leave their sarcophagi. After them comes Aspicia, their mistress, and daughter of the mighty Pharaoh. Bending over the Englishman, she lays her hand on his heart. At that very minute, a magical metamorphosis takes place: Lord Wilson and his servant become Egyptians. The former is called Taor, the latter — Passiphonte.
Enchanted by Aspicia’s beauty, Taor tries to follow her but the princess disappears in a limpid haze.
Scene 3Taor, and his servant Passiphonte, hurry off to the forest in search of Aspicia. They find her by a miracle, sleeping on a moss-covered rock. Nearby are her attendants, who are worn out by the intense heat.
Taor cautiously walks up to the Princess and places his hand on her heart. Aspicia wakes up and recognizes the handsome youth. Oblivious to everything around them, they gaze at each other.
In the distance, hunting horns can be heard. Aspicia asks Taor to hide. Ramze, her slave, who has noticed the stranger, tries to persuade her mistress to leave. The hunters appear and warn Aspicia that there is a lion in the forest: Aspicia goes off with the hunters in pursuit of the lion. The lion is surrounded but, suddenly, he breaks out of the ring of hunters and makes for the Princess. Taor who, from his hiding place, is following the scene with horror, seizes a bow, left behind by one of the hunters, and neatly lodges an arrow right in the lion’s heart. Aspicia is saved. She loses consciousness but Taor catches her before she falls and carries her off to a place of safety.
A fanfare of trumpets announces that the Pharaoh and his suite are approaching. Seeing his daughter in the arms of a stranger, the Pharaoh gives orders that the latter should be arrested. Coming to, Aspicia tells her father that Taor has saved her life and should be rewarded. The Pharaoh’s rage turns to gratitude. He orders that the youth be freed and invites him to his palace.
Act II
Scene 4Taor visits Aspicia in her sumptuous apartments and declares to her his love. The Pharaoh enters, surrounded by a brilliant suite of dignitaries and palace officials. They are followed by the King of Nubia who has come to ask for the hand of the Pharaoh’s daughter. The Egyptian potentate agrees to give his daughter in marriage to the King of Nubia and the two men sign a treaty of friendship.
Hearing of this, Taor is out of his mind with despair. Aspicia tries to calm him down and promises she will never belong to anyone except him.
The Pharaoh commands that the festivities to mark his daughter’s wedding should start. Full of sadness, Taor reminds Aspicia that soon she is to marry the King of Nubia. They decide to run away.
At the height of the festivities, Taor is handed the key to a secret door through which the couple make their escape from the palace.
The Pharaoh is furious when he hears of his daughter’s disappearance, and orders that the runaway couple should be apprehended. Noticing the secret door, the King of Nubia sets off, together with his bodyguards, in pursuit of Taor and Aspicia.
Act III
Scene 5Taor and Aspicia are hiding in a fisherman’s hut on the banks of the Nile. At nightfall, the fishermen get ready to go fishing and invite their guests to come too. Aspicia, who is tired, decides not to go. Taor advises her to rest and goes off with the fishermen.
No sooner has he departed, than the King of Nubia, accompanied by his bodyguards, enters the hut. Aspicia is only too well aware that her marriage to the King of Nubia will separate her forever from the man she loves. Therefore, to avoid being caught, she runs over to the window and throws herself into the Nile.
Meanwhile, Taor and Passiphonte come back into the hut. The King of Nubia orders that they should be seized and threatens them with revenge for having abducted Aspicia.
Scene 6The mighty God of the River Nile, the ruler of the underworld, gives Aspicia a warm welcome and recognizes her to be the daughter of the great Egyptian Pharaoh. But the young Princess has only one request — she wants to see Taor again. The God of the Nile fulfils her wish. In answer to his command Taor appears now at the top of a cliff, now in the limpid waters of waterfall. Longing to be reunited with her love one, Aspicia begs the ruler of the Nile to return her to dry land. The Nile God does as she bids.
Scene 7The Pharaoh’s palace. The ruler of Egypt is in despair. He demands that Taor be brought into his presence and threatens to kill him if the latter does not tell him where Aspicia is hiding. But Taor has no idea where the Princess is.
So the Pharaoh commands that the youth be condemned to death: he is to be bitten by a sacred snake. But at this very moment, the sounds of a joyful march can be heard in the distance: the fishermen have found Aspicia and are bringing her back to the palace.
The Princess throws herself into her father’s arms and tells him of her adventures, of her love for Taor and of how the King of Nubia threatened her and forced her to jump into the river. The Pharaoh tears up the treaty of friendship with the King of Nubia, and orders the latter to leave. Aspicia begs her father to give Taor his freedom, but the Pharaoh will not hear of it: he cannot forgive Taor for abducting his daughter. So then Aspicia declares that she is ready to die together with her loved one. And, going up to the sacred snake, she holds out her hand so that it will bite her. The Pharaoh rushes over to his daughter and holds her back. Touched by Aspicia’s selflessness and the depth of her feeling, he forgives Taor and gives his blessing to the young couple. At the height of the general rejoicing, the stage is enveloped in clouds.
Scene 8In place of the palace, a pyramid now appears again. Lord Wilson wakes up and looks round him in astonishment. In the far corner of the pyramid, he notices the tomb of the Pharaoh’s daughter. His face lights up with a radiant smile as he remembers the wonderful dream he has just had.
The casting for the live broadcast on November 25 is:
| Aspicia, the Pharaoh's daughter | Svetlana Zakharova |
| Lord Wilson, an Englishman, who turns into an Egyptian called Taor | Ruslan Skvortsov |
| John Bull, his servant, who turns into an Egyptian called Passiphonte | Denis Medvedev |
| Ramze, Aspicia's Nubian slave | Nina Kaptsova |
| A Fisherman | Vladislav Lantratov |
| The Fisherman's Wife | Maria Vinogradova |
| Pas d'action | Andrei Bolotin Yulia Lunkina Svetlana Pavlova Maria Prorvich Anastasia Stashkevich Igor Tsvirko |
| Two Cavaliers | Karim Abdullin Yegor Khromushin |
| First River – Guadalquivir | Anna Tikhomirova |
| Second River – Congo | Anna Okuneva |
| Third River – Neva | Daria Khokhlova |
| The Pharaoh | Andrei Sitnikov |
| The King of Nubia | Andrei Melanyin |
| The God of the River Nile | Ivan Alexeyev |
| Servants to the God of the River Nile | Karim Abdullin Dmitry Dorokhov Yevgeny Golovin Yegor Khromushin |
| Caryatids | Anna Balukova Victoria Litvinova Anastasia Meskova Anna Rebetskaya |
| The High Priest | Alexei Loparevich |
| Herald | Denis Savin |
| A Monkey | Alexei Matrakhov |
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Video: Ashley Bouder on Serenade with lots of clips
New York City Ballet has just published this short video about Serenade. A rare opportunity to watch Balanchine on the web!
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Monday, October 22, 2012
Christian Lacroix and designing for ballet
An interesting article about Lacroix's designs, especially for La Source, and insights on how the Paris Opera's massive wardrobe department functions:
http://www.neurope.eu/blog/dancers-and-magician-ballet-costumes-fashion-christian-lacroix-and-la-source
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http://www.neurope.eu/blog/dancers-and-magician-ballet-costumes-fashion-christian-lacroix-and-la-source
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Saturday, October 20, 2012
National Ballet of Canada Alice reviews Los Angeles
Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland performed by the National Ballet of Canada at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the LA Music Center
Lewis Segal, LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-ballet-review-alices-adventures-in-wonderland-20121020,0,409120.story
Paul Hodgins, Orange County Register
http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/alice-375216-ballet-wheeldon.html
Judy Graeme, LA Observed
http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2012/10/alices_ballet_adventures_from.php
Leilah Bernstein, Los Angeles Magazine
http://www.lamag.com/culturefilesblog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10454495
Jean Lenihan, fresh pencil (http://jeanlenihan.com/2012/
For Toronto reviews, please click here:
http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2012/11/national-ballet-of-canada-alice-reviews.html
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Lewis Segal, LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-ballet-review-alices-adventures-in-wonderland-20121020,0,409120.story
Paul Hodgins, Orange County Register
http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/alice-375216-ballet-wheeldon.html
Judy Graeme, LA Observed
http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2012/10/alices_ballet_adventures_from.php
Leilah Bernstein, Los Angeles Magazine
http://www.lamag.com/culturefilesblog/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10454495
Jean Lenihan, fresh pencil (http://jeanlenihan.com/2012/
For Toronto reviews, please click here:
http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2012/11/national-ballet-of-canada-alice-reviews.html
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Royal Ballet all-Ashton mixed program casting
All performances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. Tours en l'air is organizing a ballet trip to London which includes the February 23 performance (and four other ballets!). Booking deadline November 3. For more information, please click here.
| Date (all February) |
LA VALSE |
MÉDITATION
FROM THAÏS
|
VOICES
OF
SPRING
|
MONOTONES
I
|
MONOTONES
II
|
MARGUERITE
AND ARMAND
|
| 12 | Kobayashi, Raine, Crawford, Hirano, Gartside, Maloney* | Benjamin, Hristov* | Cojocaru, McRae | Trzensimiech*, Maguire*, Takada* | Nuñez*, Bonelli*, Watson* | Rojo, Polunin |
| 13 | Bhavnani*, McNally, McCulloch*, Hristov*, Kura*, Whitehead | Lamb, Pennefather | Morera, Campbell* | Dyer*, Naghdi*, Pajdak* | Arestis*, Hirano*, Kish* | Yanowsky, Bonelli |
| 15 | Kobayashi, Raine, Crawford, Hirano, Gartside, Maloney* | Galeazzi, Soares | Choe*, Zucchetti* | Trzensimiech*, Maguire*, Takada* | Nuñez*, Bonelli*, Watson* | Rojo, Polunin |
| 21 | Kobayashi, Raine, Crawford, Hirano, Gartside, Maloney* | Benjamin, Hristov* | Cojocaru, McRae | Trzensimiech*, Maguire*, Takada* | Nuñez*, Bonelli*, Watson* | Rojo, Polunin |
| 23 | Bhavnani*, McNally, McCulloch*, Hristov*, Kura*, Whitehead | Lamb, Pennefather | Morera, Campbell* | Dyer*, Naghdi*, Pajdak* | Arestis*, Hirano*, Kish* | Yanowsky, Bonelli |
Royal Ballet Onegin casting January-February
| Date | Tatiana | Onegin | Olga | Lensky | Prince Gremin |
| January | |||||
| 19 | Cojocaru | Jason Reilly (guest) |
Takada | McRae | Gartside |
| 22 | Morera | Bonelli | Choe | Kish* | Avis |
| 23 | Cojocaru | Jason Reilly (guest) | Takada | McRae | Gartside |
| 25 | Morera | Bonelli | Choe | Kish* | Avis |
| 26 | Nuñez* | Soares | Hinkis* | Zucchetti * | Hirano |
| 30 | Cojocaru | Jason Reilly (guest) | Takada | McRae | Gartside |
| 31 | Morera | Bonelli | Choe | Kish* | Avis |
| February | |||||
| 1 | Nuñez* | Soares | Hinkis* | Zucchetti * | Hirano |
| 2 mat | Cojocaru | Jason Reilly (guest) | Takada | McRae | Gartside |
| 2 eve | Lamb* | Hristov* | Naghdi* | Trzensimiech | Whitehead |
| 5 | Morera | Bonelli | Choe | Kish* | Avis |
| 7 | Nuñez* | Soares | Hinkis* | Zucchetti * | Hirano |
| 8 | Lamb* | Hristov* | Naghdi* | Trzensimiech | Whitehead |
Updated January 15, 2012. Casting subject to change
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Thursday, October 18, 2012
Video of Robert Tewsley as Abderakhman
A dress rehearsal from the New National Theatre of Tokyo's production of Raymonda from 2004.
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February Ballet trip to London: 5 performances, Royal Ballet,
Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Ballet Black, now
booking (deadline November 3). For more info, click here.
GET
MORE BALLET OUT OF LIFE WITH TOURS EN L'AIR
20% discount on Mariinsky Cinderella extended
The Kennedy Center has extended its 20% off on orchestra seats offer for three more performances of Alexei Ratmansky's Cinderella.
Grab your tickets today and save 20%!*
Grab your tickets today and save 20%!*
 | Special Offer: Save 20% on Orchestra Seats!*
Buy online or mention code "146940" to receive your discount.
| |||||
|
 |
Cinderella
Choreography by Alexei Ratmansky
Music by Sergei Prokofiev
Libretto by Nikolai Volkov
after motifs from the fairy tale by Charles Perrault
The fairy godmother. The stroke of
midnight. The glass slipper. Triumphantly returning to the Kennedy
Center after a series of sold-out performances in January, St.
Petersburg's Mariinsky Ballet performs Alexei Ratmansky's Cinderella.
Ratmansky's romantic and moving version, a contemporary take on the
classic fairy tale, blends tradition with innovation in a captivating
showcase of wit, charm, and bravura style, intensified by Prokofiev's
exquisite music. Filled with gorgeous pas de deux, endearing characters,
and countless magical moments, the production hits "just the right note
of wonder, timidity and excitement," (The New York Times) and offers grand ballet with a contemporary twist.
Oct. 16–21, 2012 | Opera House | Tickets from $29
  |
February Ballet trip to London: 5 performances, Royal Ballet,
Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Ballet Black, now
booking (deadline November 3). For more info, click here.
GET
MORE BALLET OUT OF LIFE WITH TOURS EN L'AIR
|
Mariinsky Cinderella (Ratmansky) reviews - Washington
Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.
Oksana Khadarina, dancetabs.com
http://www.dancetabs.com/2012/10/mariinsky-ballet-cinderella-washington/
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Mariinsky Ballet's 'Cinderella' at The Kennedy Center by Carolyn ...
www.dcmetrotheaterarts.com/.../mariinsky-ballets-cinderella-at-the-k...
1 day ago – Young Russian dancers keep Cinderella on her toes. With its remarkable legacy of theatrical and musical traditions, St. Petersburg's Mariinsky ...Dance Review: The Mariinsky Ballet Presents Prokofiev's 'Cinderella ...
www.mdtheatreguide.com/.../dance-review-the-mariinsky-ballet-pres...
2 days ago – In the Mariinsky Ballet's production of Prokofiev's Cinderella, you won't find a pumpkin that turns into a carriage; nor will you find mice that turn ...Oksana Khadarina, dancetabs.com
http://www.dancetabs.com/2012/10/mariinsky-ballet-cinderella-washington/
February Ballet trip to London: 5 performances, Royal Ballet,
Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Ballet Black, now
booking (deadline November 3). For more info, click here.
GET
MORE BALLET OUT OF LIFE WITH TOURS EN L'AIR
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Paris Opera Ballet video of Harald Lander's Etudes
A rare YouTube video of excerpts from this fantastic display piece for technical prowess, performed by the Paris Opera Ballet with Marie-Agnes Gillot, Mathieu Ganio, and Jose Martinez:
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MORE BALLET OUT OF LIFE WITH TOURS EN L'AIR
Alice casting National Ballet of Canada Toronto
The National Ballet of Canada has announced casting for its November run of Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland at the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto. To book tickets, click here.
| Date | Alice |
Jack/
The
Knave of Hearts
|
Lewis
Carroll/
The
White Rabbit
|
| November 10 @ 200 | Elena Lobsanova* | Keiichi Hirano | Dylan Tedaldi* |
| November 10 @ 730 | Sonia Rodriguez | Naoya Ebe | Aleksandar Antonijevic |
November
11 @ 200
|
Elena Lobsanova* | Keiichi Hirano | Dylan Tedaldi* |
| November 14 @ 730 | Sonia Rodriguez | Guillaume Côté* | Aleksandar Antonijevic |
November
15 @ 200
|
Elena Lobsanova* | Keiichi Hirano | Dylan Tedaldi* |
November
15 @ 730
|
Heather Ogden | McGee Maddox | Piotr Stanczyk |
| November 16 @ 730 | Sonia Rodriguez | Guillaume Côté* | Aleksandar Antonijevic |
November
17 @ 200
|
Heather Ogden | McGee Maddox | Piotr Stanczyk |
November
17 @ 730
|
Elena Lobsanova* | Keiichi Hirano | Dylan Tedaldi* |
| November 18 @ 200 | Sonia Rodriguez | Guillaume Côté* | Aleksandar Antonijevic |
November
21 @ 730
|
Jillian Vanstone | Naoya Ebe | Robert Stephen* |
November
22 @ 730
|
Elena Lobsanova* | Keiichi Hirano | Dylan Tedaldi* |
November
23 @ 730
|
Heather Ogden | McGee Maddox | Piotr Stanczyk |
| November 24 @ 200 | Sonia Rodriguez | Guillaume Côté* | Aleksandar Antonijevic |
November
24 @ 730
|
Jillian Vanstone | Naoya Ebe | Robert Stephen* |
November
25 @ 200
|
Heather Ogden | McGee Maddox | Piotr Stanczyk |
February Ballet trip to London: 5 performances, Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Ballet Black, now booking (deadline November 3). For more info, click here.
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MORE BALLET OUT OF LIFE WITH TOURS EN L'AIR
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Video of Matthew Golding in Lightfoot Leon Short Time Together
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Video portrait of Matthew Golding
Dutch National Ballet's Canadian Principal Dancer Matthew Golding, who
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My trip to London including 5 performances by 4 companies is now booking!
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