NBOC Romeo&Juliet casting London

	Juliet	Romeo	Mercutio	Tybalt	Paris	Benvolio
Wed April 17 @ 730	Heather Ogden	Guillaume Côté	Piotr Stanczyk	Jiří Jelinek	Patrick Lavoie	Robert Stephen
Thurs April 18 @ 730	Elena Lobsanova	McGee Maddox	Jonathan Renna	Jiří Jelinek	Patrick Lavoie	Christopher Stalzer
Friday April 19 @ 730	Greta Hodgkinson	Guillaume Côté	Piotr Stanczyk	Etienne Lavigne	Brett van Sickle	Robert Stephen
Sat April 20 @ 2	Elena Lobsanova	McGee Maddox	Jonathan Renna	Jiří Jelinek	Patrick Lavoie	Christopher Stalzer
Sat April 20 @ 730	Sonia Rodriguez	Naoya Ebe	Keiichi Hirano	Etienne Lavigne	Brett van Sickle	Dylan Tedaldi
Sun April 21 @ 4	Heather Ogden	Guillaume Côté	Piotr Stanczyk	Jiří Jelinek	Patrick Lavoie	Robert Stephen

National Ballet of Canada
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky

All performances at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London. To book tickets:

https://tickets.sadlerswells.com/performances2.asp?ShoID=1461

For reviews of recent performances in Toronto and Ottawa, please click here.

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.

You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.

Great backstage photos from the Royal Ballet

Royal Ballet dancer Andrej Uspenski has produced a book of  great behind the scenes shots:
Dancers: Behind the Scenes With The Royal Ballet (Oberon Books, £35*) will be published on 1 April

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2296304/Behind-scenes-Royal-Ballet-graft-grace.html#ixzz2OSnsLy9b

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.

You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.

It's smarter to travel in groups

This very entertaining video is from the Belgian public transport system, but the same could apply to travelling for ballet!

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.

You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.

Half price tickets for English National Ballet

For Ecstasy and Death (Petite Mort, Jeune Homme and Etudes) 18th to 21st April, you can get 2 tickets for the price of one on the top three prices (67, 55, and 40 pounds). To book tickets, call the London Coliseum +44 (0)20 7845 9300 and quote 'EMERGING' or book online and enter the promo code 'EMERGING' (this is done just as you are paying for the tickets) to get the discount.

Three contrasting 20th century ballets of magnificent choreography and deep poetic emotion, showcasing the Company’s stylistic versatility, technical brilliance and dramatic flair.

Petite Mort is danced to two Mozart piano concertos and explores energy, silence and sexuality. This Company premiere of Jiří Kylián’s beautiful, poetic piece, is a landmark of contemporary choreography.

Le Jeune Homme et la Mort is Roland Petit’s choreographic masterpiece. It concerns a faithless woman tormenting her young lover, driving him to despair. It has attracted some of the greatest male dancers, from Nureyev to Baryshnikov.


Etudes is Harald Lander’s classical, glamorous celebration of how a daily ballet class develops from simple stretching at the barre to a full virtuoso performance showcasing the artistry and skills of the corps de ballet.



Credits
Petite Mort
Dance Production / Choreography  Jiří Kylián
Music W.A. Mozart
Set design Jiří Kylián
Costume design Joke Visser
Light design  Jiří Kylián (concept), Joop Caboort (realisation)
Technical supervisor light/set Kees Tjebbes

Le Jeune Homme et la Mort

Choreography Roland Petit
Music Johann Sebastian Bach
Libretto Jean Cocteau
Design Georges Wakhévitch
Costumes Karinska
Lighting Jean-Michel Desiré

Etudes

Ballet/Choreography Harald Lander
Music Knudåge Riisager from Czerny's Etudes
Designs after Rolf Gerard
Lighting David Moh 
Artistic Advisor Lise Lander

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.

You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.

Saye & Meiss replace Ebe & Rodriguez in NBOC Romeo

Brendan Saye and Chelsy Meiss will be performing Alexei Ratmansky's Romeo and Juliet on Sunday March 17, replacing Naoya Ebe and Sonia Rodriguez. Naoya sprained his ankle in the first act of the ballet in Friday night's performance, but incredibly managed to dance the balcony pas de deux in spite of his injury. In the intermission, Guillaume Cote was called in. This created more drama in wardrobe, as usually Naoya and Guillaume share costumes, but as they are not the same size, that costumes have to be altered between each performance. Obviously there is no time to do so in a 20-minute intermission. A hasty substitution of Aleksandar Antonijevic's costumes was made. Bravo to Guillaume for leaping in at such short notice. It's getting to be a habit with him, as he stepped in (out of the audience) as a partner for Tina Pereira when Keiichi Hirano tore his Achilles tendon in the middle of the Le Corsaire pas de deux in the Erik Bruhn competition a couple of years ago, and during the same season stepped in to replace a back-spasm-afflicted Jason Reilly in Taming of the Shrew.
All the best to Naoya for a speedy recovery, so that hopefully he can perform the role in London next month, and to Brendan and Chelsy. 

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.

You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.

Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty comes to NY in Fall 2013

New York City Center will present the New York premiere of Matthew Bourne’s acclaimed Sleeping Beauty Oct. 23-Nov. 3 at City Center; tickets will go on sale on March 25:
http://www.nycitycenter.org/tickets/productionNew.aspx?performanceNumber=7280

Sleeping Beauty sees Bourne return to the music of Tchaikovsky to complete the trio of the composer’s ballet masterworks that started in 1992 with Nutcracker! and continued in 1995 with the international hit Swan Lake. City Center presented a limited-run production of the latter in 2010.
“We are thrilled to welcome Matthew and his company New Adventures back to City Center with this exciting new production,” said Arlene Shuler, president & CEO of City Center, in a statement. “This Sleeping Beauty is imaginative, surprising and absolutely gorgeous to look at. We look forward to introducing New York to this new ballet that was so highly praised by audiences and the press at its London premiere.”
“This production of Sleeping Beauty was the fulfillment of a great ambition, to choreograph the three great Tchaikovsky ballets and was made to celebrate the 25th anniversary of my company, New Adventures, last year,” added Bourne. "I am so grateful to Arlene Shuler and City Center to have this opportunity to bring this production to New York audiences, who have always been so welcoming of my work.”
Charles Perrault's fairy tale about a young girl cursed to sleep for 100 years was turned into a ballet by Tchaikovsky and choreographer Marius Petipa in 1890. Bourne, according to press notes, "takes this date as his starting point, setting the christening of Aurora, the story’s heroine, at the height of the fin-de-siecle period, when fairies, vampires and decadent opulence fed the gothic imagination. As Aurora grows into a young woman, we move forward in time to the more rigid, uptight Edwardian era—a mythical golden age of long summer afternoons, croquet on the lawn and new dance crazes. Years later, awakening from her century-long slumber, Aurora finds herself in the modern day, a world more mysterious and wonderful than any fairy tale."
The creative team includes award-winning designers Lez Brotherston (set and costumes), Paule Constable (lighting) and Paul Groothuis (sound design).
Tickets range from $30-$130 and go on sale March 25. Tickets can be purchased at the New York City Center Box Office (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues), through CityTix at (212) 581-1212, or online at www.NYCityCenter.org. City Center is located on 55th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues.
For more information visit www.new-adventures.net/productions/sleeping_beauty.

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.

You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.

Bolshoi and Royal Ballet cinema broadcasts 2013-14

Bolshoi Ballet
October 20 - Spartacus
November 17 - Le Corsaire (repeat)
December 22 - The Sleeping Beauty (repeat)
January 19 - Jewels
February 2 - Lost Illusions
March 30 - The Golden Age

Royal Ballet
October 16 - Don Quixote
December 12 - The Nutcracker
January 27 - Giselle
March 19 - The Sleeping Beauty
April 28 - The Winter's Tale

In Canada, Cineplex will be broadcasting as follows:

Royal Ballet:

DON QUIXOTE Live – Wed., October 16

THE NUTCRACKER Live – Thur., Dec. 12

THE NUTCRACKER Encore - Sun., Dec. 22

GISELLE Live – Mon., January 27

A WINTER’S TALE Live – Mon., April 28
Reminder: The live broadcast of this ballet on April 28th is NOT being shown in Canada and the US.  
 

Bolshoi Ballet:

SPARTACUS Live – Sun., October 20

SLEEPING BEAUTY Live – Wed., Mar 19

SLEEPING BEAUTY Encore - Sun., Apr 13

JEWELS Live – Sun., January 19

LOST ILLUSIONS Live – Sun., February 2

THE GOLDEN AGE Live – Sun., March 30

NDT (Nederlands Danse Theater): To be announced
Visit http://www.cineplex.com/Events/DanceSeries/Home.aspx

for theatre listings, showtimes, and to buy tickets.

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.

You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.

Jock Soto to attend Toronto screening of a film about his life

Red Sky, Canada's leading company of contemporary world Indigenous performance in dance, theatre and music, is sponsoring a screening of a film about former New York City Ballet dancer Jock Soto. 

Jock Soto will be in attendance.

Water Flowing Together is a compelling, intimate portrait of Jock Soto.
Of Navajo heritage, Soto was just 16 when George Balanchine selected him to join the New York City Ballet where he eventually became the most choreographed dancer in the company's history. Soto danced featured roles that were often created for him by world-class choreographers such as Peter Martins, Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, and Lynne Taylor-Corbett.

While Jock Soto is an artist who found his medium of expression in dance, the film explores more than Soto's career—it is as much about the complexities of the man, about heritage, family, identity and transition.


WHEN:
  Friday April 5, 2013 at 5:00 pm
WHERE:

Camera Lounge
(1028 Queen St West - at Ossington), Toronto.

COST: $20 at the door only


The entire film is 77 minutes in length
Preview a 4 mins excerpt below

National Ballet of Canada Romeo & Juliet reviews March 2013

Michael Crabb, Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/2013/03/13/alexei_ratmansky_gives_national_ballet_of_canada_a_romeo_and_juliet_with_soul_review.html
"Whether it’s a ravishing romantic pas de deux full of soaring lifts or a geometrically complex ensemble number with dancers heading every which way in brilliantly resolving patterns, Ratmansky’s Romeo and Juliet is a choreographic delight, rich in detail, subtle in its musicality and always dramatically expressive...Romeo is one of Côté’s finest roles and the more he dances Ratmansky’s version, the more he discovers in its expressive possibilities.."

Paula Citron, Globe and Mail
"Aging finely, Ratmansky’s vision for Romeo and Juliet works on every level."

Dana Glassman, National Post
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2013/03/14/dance-review-the-national-ballets-romeo-and-juliet-jetes-it-up-a-notch-with-energetic-new-production/ 

"Yet this company of chiselled-bodied dancers makes it all look easy, and the demanding moves never steal focus from the tragic story. ..
Guillaume Côté delivers an unbridled and honest performance as Romeo, and proves to be a great partner for Lobsanova. Every lift, particularly in the bedroom pas de deux, is executed with smooth tenderness.
And the supporting characters also impress. Jiří Jelinek is magnetic as the temperamental bad-boy Tybalt. Piotr Stanczyk oozes charisma as Romeo’s goofy and affable friend Mercutio." 

John Coulbourn, Toronto Sun 
"principal amongst those wonderful side trips would be Piotr Stanczyk's scene-stealing take on the tempestuous Mercutio, who, paired with an almost equally charming Benvolio, danced by Robert Stephen, embodies the spirit of youthful exuberance and joy"

Gary Smith, Hamilton Spectator
"I still don’t think Alexei Ratmansky’s Romeo and Juliet is half as good as John Cranko’s more deeply felt version.
Of all the Romeo and Juliet ballets I’ve seen, Ratmansky’s is the least romantic, the least visually seductive.
There’s too much busy choreography that gets in the way of emotion. Half the time the performers’ feet don’t seem attached to their heads and hearts...Piotr Stanczyk, one of the National Ballet’s most visceral dancers, works to make Mercutio more than a comic buffoon. Jiri Jelinek’s masterful performance as Tybalt foams with vicious venom."

Denise Sum, Dance View Times
"Lobsanova has really grown into this role and looked better than ever here. Her movement does not just speak, but cries and whispers, such is the nuance and sensitivity she conveys through her dancing."

Madalina Hubert, Epoch Times
(interview with Brendan Saye and Chelsy Meiss)

Ottawa Citizen

Ballet review: Ratmansky’s love of speed and virtuosity in full display in Romeo and Juliet

January 31, 2013

OTTAWA — In Alexei Ratmansky’s version of Romeo and Juliet...hearts of the title hero and heroine. Ratmansky choreographed this new R&J for...NBC repertoire since the 1960s — Ratmansky’s ultra-caffeinated version must...

Taking risks with Romeo and Juliet

January 29, 2013

...laser-cut choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, artist-in-residence of the American...artistic director Karen Kain commissioned Ratmansky to create a new Romeo and Juliet for the company...was met with standing ovations.“( Ratmansky’s) aesthetic, steeped in the Russian...

 

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.

You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.

Win a ticket to see Ballet Jorgen's Swan Lake

I am running a contest for one ticket, row G centre (VALUE $55), for Ballet Jorgen's Swan Lake on Wednesday March 27, 2013 at 8 pm at the Betty Oliphant Theatre in Toronto. All you have to do to have your name entered in the draw is type your email address into the "Follow by email" window on the right hand side, and verify that you have subscribed to my site when you get the verification email. Draw will be held on the 22nd of March.

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.

You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.

Sonia Rodriguez prepares her pointe shoes

Ballet from Olga B on Vimeo.

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.

You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.

Royal Winnipeg Ballet Sleeping Beauty tour dates

Prairie Tour | The Sleeping Beauty

Saskatoon, SK | March 16-17, 2013 | TCU Place
Regina, SK | March 18, 2013 | Conexus Arts Centre
Brandon, MB | March 19, 2013 | Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium

Ontario Tour | The Sleeping Beauty

Ottawa, ON | April 4-6, 2013 | National Arts Centre - Southam Hall
Belleville, ON | April 8, 2013 | The Empire Theatre
Kingston, ON | April 9, 2013 | The Grand Theatre
Mississauga, ON | April 10, 2013 | Living Arts Centre

Hamilton, ON | April 12, 2013 | Hamilton Place
London, ON | April 13, 2013 - 4:00pm | RBC Theatre at Budweiser Gardens

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.

You can sign up to have my ballet updates delivered directly to your inbox here.

National Ballet of Canada Nijinsky Reviews

Click on the links for full reviews.

Dana Glassman, National Post:
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2013/03/03/dance-review-national-ballets-nijinsky-soars-to-intense-heights/
"The National Ballet of Canada’s performance of John Neumeier’s Nijinsky is so powerful and chilling, it stays with you long after the curtain goes down....Guillaume Côté, who danced the role of Nijinsky Saturday evening (he alternates performances with Skylar Campbell and Hamburg Ballet’s Alexandre Riabko) is simply mind-blowing.

National Ballet review: Nijinsky a triumph of dramatic intensity
Toronto Star, Michael Crabb
National Ballet rises to the challenge of presenting John Neumeier's Nijinsky, a spectacular, sprawling, surreal and often mind-bending homage to ballet's most legendary male dancer

A Legend gets his due
John Coulbourn, Toronto Sun

The National Ballet has a hit in Nijinsky
Paula Citron, The Globe and Mail 
"if the deafening applause and cheers that exploded as the curtain came down is any indication, the National Ballet has another run-don’t-walk hit on its hands...Côté’s emotional outpouring is heartbreaking, both as an actor and a dancer.Jelinek is a standout as Diaghilev, with his veneer of icy calm. He is both sexy and nasty, and dominates the stage. Ogden is absolutely gorgeous in her vulnerability."

 John Neumeier’s tribute to the legendary dance artist is a triumph for the National Ballet of Canada
Glenn Sumi, Now Toronto

" the work is a staggering achievement, mixing layers of art, biography and symbol ... into something fresh and new.
There are too many fine performances to single out, but special mention of course goes to Côté, who’s required to be a comic tragedian, a conflicted queer man and an artist going mad, all while dancing steps that start off difficult and end up excruciating."

Denise Sum, Danceviewtimes
"As Nijinsky, Guillaume Côté gave a formidable performance with such technical virtuosity and gut-wrenching drama that one wonders if there is anything that he cannot do...Equally deserving of mention is Jiří Jelinek as Diaghilev.While he was harsh, controlling and slimy at times, there was also a magnetism about him that suggested why he was so good at what he did."

Gary Smith, Hamilton Spectator
"Guest star Alexandre Riabko is brilliant in the star Nijinsky role suggesting all the pent-up fury of a man frustrated by life and art.
Sonia Rodriguez gives the performance of her life as poor, desperate Romola, Jiri Jelinek is touching as Diaghilev and Dylan Tedaldi, Aleksandar Antonijevic and Hamilton-born Brett Vansickle are standouts in a superb cast."

For casting, click here.

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.

Toronto Ballet Outings in March

If you would like to join me and other ballet lovers on any of these outings, please email me at toursenlair@gmail.com

National Ballet of Canada
 
Nijinsky
Thursday March 7, 2 pm and 7:30 pm performances
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto


 
Ballet Jorgen Canada
Swan Lake
Wednesday March 27, 8 pm
Betty Oliphant Theatre, Toronto   

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.

Great article about Guillaume Côté

" a lifetime of almost uninterrupted honing has turned Côté’s body into something like an abstract representation of the human body, like a computer-generated rag doll that can be put in any shape. He moves so freely, it seems like his skeleton and his muscles aren’t even connected. His legs look they were sanded down to their barest shape and then pumped up in perfect proportions. His body is at once the trunk of a tree and its leaves, firmly rooted but ready to flutter off at any moment."
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2013/02/28/on-the-town-with-national-ballets-guillaume-cote/

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.