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

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Thursday, July 31, 2014

Bolshoi & Royal Ballet Cinema Broadcasts in the US 2014-15

In the US, the Bolshoi live broadcasts are presented by two companies, the first being "Ballet In Cinema" and the second being Fathom Events. For each ballet you will have to check whether a cinema near you is offering it and if so on what day, because broadcast dates vary by venue.

A tip from Tours en l'air: I recommend the Royal Ballet's Swan Lake  over the Bolshoi's, which is quite ghastly in my opinion.
To find a "Ballet in Cinema" venue near you, enter your location on this website: 

http://www.bolshoiballetincinema.com/


First Screening and Varying Dates


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Fall for Dance Festival Programs, NY October 8 - 18

Programs

 

10/8 Wed 8:00pm

Program One

Show Info
BLACK GRACE
Minoi and Pati Patichoreographed by Neil leremia
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
Variations for Two Couples
choreographed by Hans van Manen
RUSSELL MALIPHANT/SADLER’S WELLS LONDON
Two x Twochoreographed by Russell Maliphant
MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP AND MUSIC ENSEMBLE
Words
choreographed by Mark Morris

10/9 Thu 8:00pm

Program One

Show Info
BLACK GRACE
Minoi and Pati Patichoreographed by Neil leremia
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
Variations for Two Couples
choreographed by Hans van Manen
RUSSELL MALIPHANT/SADLER’S WELLS LONDON
Two x Twochoreographed by Russell Maliphant
MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP AND MUSIC ENSEMBLE
Words
choreographed by Mark Morris

10/10 Fri 8:00pm

Program Two

Show Info
LUCINDA CHILDS DANCE COMPANY
Concerto
choreographed by Lucinda Childs
SEMPEROPER BALLETT DRESDEN
Neue Suitechoreographed by William Forsythe
SARA MEARNS & COMPANY
Stairway to Paradise
choreographed by Joshua Bergasse
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER
Minus 16
choreographed by Ohad Naharin

10/11 Sat 8:00pm

Program Two

Show Info
LUCINDA CHILDS DANCE COMPANY
Concerto
choreographed by Lucinda Childs
SEMPEROPER BALLETT DRESDEN
Neue Suitechoreographed by William Forsythe
SARA MEARNS & COMPANY
Stairway to Paradise
choreographed by Joshua Bergasse
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER
Minus 16
choreographed by Ohad Naharin

10/14 Tue 8:00pm

Program Three

Show Info
TRISHA BROWN DANCE COMPANY
Son of Gone Fishin'
choreographed by Trisha Brown
COMPANY SÉBASTIEN RAMIREZ & HONJI WANG
AP15
choreographed by Sébastien Ramirez and Honji Wang
VUYANI DANCE THEATRE
Umnikelo
choreographed by Luyanda Sidiya
ADDITIONAL COMPANY TBA

10/15 Wed 8:00pm

Program Three

Show Info
TRISHA BROWN DANCE COMPANY
Son of Gone Fishin'
choreographed by Trisha Brown
COMPANY SÉBASTIEN RAMIREZ & HONJI WANG
AP15
choreographed by Sébastien Ramirez and Honji Wang
VUYANI DANCE THEATRE
Umnikelo
choreographed by Luyanda Sidiya
ADDITIONAL COMPANY TBA

10/16 Thu 8:00pm

Program Four

Show Info
BRIAN BROOKS MOVING COMPANY WITH JUILLIARD DANCE
Torrent
choreographed by Brian Brooks
THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET
Ostinato
choreographed by Tim Harbour
BJM - LES BALLETS JAZZ DE MONTRÉAL
Closer
choreographed by Benjamin Millepied
RENNIE HARRIS PUREMOVEMENT
Students of the Asphalt Jungle
choreographed by Dr. Rennie Harris

10/17 Fri 8:00pm

Program Four

Show Info
BRIAN BROOKS MOVING COMPANY WITH JUILLIARD DANCE
Torrent
choreographed by Brian Brooks
THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET
Ostinato
choreographed by Tim Harbour
BJM - LES BALLETS JAZZ DE MONTRÉAL
Closer
choreographed by Benjamin Millepied
RENNIE HARRIS PUREMOVEMENT
Students of the Asphalt Jungle
choreographed by Dr. Rennie Harris

10/18 Sat 8:00pm

Program Five

Show Info
WAYNE MCGREGOR | RANDOM DANCE
FAR
choreographed by Wayne McGregor in collaboration with the dancers
PONTUS LIDBERG DANCE
New Lidbergchoreographed by Pontus Lidberg
AAKASH ODEDRA COMPANY
Nritta
choreographed by Aakash Odedra
THE SARASOTA BALLET
Les Patineurs
choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton

The 2014 Fall for Dance Festival runs October 8–19 at New York City Center (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues). All tickets are $15 and go on sale on Sunday, September 14 at 11 a.m. Tickets can be purchased online, by calling CityTix at 212.581.1212, or at the City Center Box Office.

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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Follow me on twitter: @thewordlady
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Monday, July 28, 2014

Ballet-related events at Guggenheim Works & Process Fall 2014

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10128
guggenheim.org
continues its "Works and Process" series this fall, including three programs of particular interest to ballet lovers:

DANCE & MUSIC
DEMO WITH DAMIAN WOETZEL
Sun and Mon, Sept 21 and 22, 7:30 pm
Damian Woetzel’s new NYC-based
DEMO series will bring together
artists from different genres
exploring a common theme. This
DEMO preview features a cast of
dancers including Carla Korbes
(Sept 21 only), Tiler Peck, Fang-Yi
Sheu, Lil Buck, Herman Cornejo,
and Robert Fairchild and musicians
including flutist Claire Chase, tabla player Sandeep Das, violinist
Johnny Gandelsman, and Galician bagpiper Cristina Pato.
THE KENNEDY CENTER
LITTLE DANCER WITH SUSAN STROMAN
Sun, Oct 5, 7:30 pm
Inspired by the obscure ballerina who
posed for the famed Edgar Degas
sculpture Little Dancer Aged Fourteen
(1879–81), this new musical follows the
young dancer Marie Van Goethem as
she struggles in the Paris Opera Ballet
and inadvertently becomes the world’s
most recognized dancer. Excerpts
will be performed by four-time Tony
Award–winner Boyd Gaines, three-time Tony Award–nominee
Rebecca Luker, and New York City Ballet principal dancer Tiler
Peck. Director and choreographer Susan Stroman will participate
in a moderated discussion with Lynn Ahrens (book and lyrics) and
Stephen Flaherty (music).
Arrive early and stay late to view Degas’ Dancers in Green and Yellow
(Danseuses vertes et jauntes), from the Guggenheim’s permanent collection,
from 6:30–7:30 pm and 8:45–9:30 pm in the Thannhauser Gallery.
JEROME ROBBINS
FANCY FREE TO ON THE TOWN
Sun and Mon, Nov 9 and 10, 7:30 pm
In 1944, Leonard Bernstein
and Jerome Robbins
created the ballet Fancy
Free and with Betty
Comden and Adolph
Green transformed it into
the musical On The Town.
See excerpts from Fancy Free, a performance of “New York, New
York” from the original On The Town staged by Robert LaFosse
and excerpts of the fall 2014 revival of On The Town by Tony
Award–winning director John Rando and Emmy Award–winning
choreographer Joshua Bergasse. Robbins biographer Amanda
Vaill moderates the discussion with LaFosse, Bergasse, Rando,
actress Phyllis Newman, and writer/narrator Jamie Bernstein,
daughter of Leonard Bernstein.

Fall 2014 season brochure (PDF)

Box Office

Phone: 212 423 3575
E-mail: boxoffice@guggenheim.org
If you love ballet, please check out my season of outstanding ballet trips by clicking here.

GET MORE BALLET OUT OF LIFE WITH TOURS EN L'AIR
Use the buttons below to share this post on facebook, twitter, by email, or other social media.
Follow me on twitter: @thewordlady
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Sunday, July 27, 2014

Live Streaming International Ballet Competition Varna

The International Ballet Competition in Varna can be watched live online on 26, 27, 29 and 30 July, 2014 starting at 8 pm European time (2 pm Eastern Time)  BNT World website at the link: http://tv.bnt.bg/bntworld/

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

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

Use the buttons below to share this post on facebook, twitter, by email, or other social media.
Follow me on twitter: @thewordlady
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Friday, July 25, 2014

Royal Ballet Winter's Tale cinema broadcast in North America

RBwinterstale2014prodJP02326 304x500 Preview of tonights new Wheeldon ballet: The Winter’s Tale
Sarah Lamb as Per­dita and Steven McRae as Flor­izel in Act II of The Winter’s Tale — photo ROH / Johan Persson, 2014

North America missed out on the cinema broadcast of Christopher Wheeldon's wildly successful Winter's Tale this past spring, but balletomanes in the United States will have a chance to see it next February 17, 2015 at the locations listed on this page:
http://www.fathomevents.com/event/roh1415-the-winters-tale/more-info/theater-locations.

No broadcasts in Canada
Unfortunately for us Canadians, we are once again blacked out, but there is a bit of hope for some living near the border. Windsorites can see the broadcast at two locations in the Detroit area, Livonia and Sterling Heights. The nearest cinema to Toronto is in Rochester, NY, and as this is an evening broadcast, is not feasible Those in the Lower Mainland of BC can take a trip to Bellingham, WA. Snowbirds in Arizona and Florida will be well served.

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

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

Use the buttons below to share this post on facebook, twitter, by email, or other social media.
Follow me on twitter: @thewordlady
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Thursday, July 24, 2014

Gayaneh streaming online

The State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater of Armenia production of  Gayaneh is available as an online stream from the Mariinsky Theatre:

 http://mariinsky.tv/n/e

CREDITS:
Music by Aram Khachaturian (includes his famous "Sabre Dance")
Libretto by Vilen Galstyan
Musical Director and Principal Conductor: Karen Durgaryan
Choreographer: Vilen Galstyan
Set Designer: Minas Avetisyan
Costume Designer: Roubina Hovhannisyan
Performance running time: 2 hours 20 minutes
There will be two intervals

SYNOPSIS:
Act I
In an Armenian village people are resting after a hard day’s work. Compared with the other girls, Gayaneh stands out with her beauty and charm. In her spare time she loves to dance. Gayaneh is the embodiment of Armenia, its vivid colours and unique national hues. Armen, who is in love with Gayaneh, cannot draw his eyes away from the young woman.
Act II
Giko, who is aware of Gayaneh and Armen’s love, nevertheless tries to win the girl’s heart. His unrequited love encourages him to play dirty and cruel tricks. Giko is a courageous and decisive fellow who will see no obstacles in his path. But here he faces defeat. This annoys Giko. His heart is filled with malice and despair. He resolves to avenge himself.
Act III
With the help of his friends, Giko abducts Gayaneh. The entire village hears of what has happened with lightning speed. The villagers are shocked and angry. Led by Armen, they discover the kidnappers. Giko is unable to bear the villagers’ wroth. He resolves to flee. Gayaneh and Armen are happy. Love has triumphed and they are free to marry. All their fellow villagers sing and dance at the wedding. This part of the ballet includes several folk dances, among them the famous Sabre Dance. 

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

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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Ballet appreciation course in OTTAWA this fall

This fall I am taking my popular ballet appreciation courses on tour to Carleton University's Learning Retirement program in Ottawa. If you want to get more out of the Bolshoi and Royal Ballet cinema broadcasts, learn more about ballet in general, and have fun, this course is for you! If you don't live in the Ottawa-Gatineau area but know someone who does, please forward this information to them.

 

 

Best of Ballet

Lecturer: Katherine Barber
Lecturer biography: Katherine Barber is known to legions of fans as “Canada’s Word Lady” for her knack for making word histories lively and entertaining, but ballet is her real passion. She has taken ballet classes for almost forty years, and has seen thousands of performances all over the world. A popular teacher of ballet appreciation courses and “Ballet Talk” presenter for The National Ballet of Canada, she is a highly knowledgeable balletomane who vivaciously communicates her love and knowledge of the art form while demystifying its sometimes intimidating aspects.

  • Fridays, September 12th – October 17th
  • 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
  • Location: Room 124, Leeds House Building
Lecture series description: Ballet, one of the world’s greatest life-enhancing high art forms, beautifully combines visual arts, music, drama, and movement in one package. Those whose experience of ballet begins and ends with The Nutcracker will be surprised to discover how varied, exciting, and downright enjoyable ballet is. Current ballet fans will enrich their experience with insights into its history and all its aspects, focusing on six great choreographers whose repertoires will be part of this year’s live cinema broadcasts. By the end of this lecture series, participants will be able to identify distinctive choreographic styles and understand the physical challenges inherent in ballet.
Lectures, discussions, films and hands-on learning (ballet mime) Fee: $110.00 + HST Enrollment capacity: 60 participants

Week 1 - Women in White: French Romantic Ballet (Giselle, La Sylphide)
19th-century Romanticism and its obsessions – emotion, the supernatural, the individual, an idealized view of women – have left their mark on ballet to this day.

Week 2 - Impressing the Tsar: The Grand Imperial Russian Style (La Bayadere, Paquita, The Pharaoh's Daughter)
When you think "ballet", you see a regal-looking ballerina in a short tutu performing feats of virtuosity, and you owe that vision to Marius Petipa and his late-19th-century ballets.

Week 3 - Swans and Sugarplums (Swan Lake, Nutcracker)
The collaboration between Tchaikovsky and the choreographers of the Russian Imperial Court takes ballet to new heights as a serious art form.
Week 4 - Seeing the Music and Hearing the Dance (Jewels, Symphony in C/Palais de Cristal)
The great 20th-century Russian-American choreographer George Balanchine creates a new, plotless style of "neo-classical" ballet in which the dance serves great music, and reinvents ballet as a vigorous, athletic North American art form.
Week 5 - The Dark Night of the Soul (Manon)
The 20th-century British choreographer Kenneth MacMillan pushes ballet in new directions, exploring its ability, like all great art forms, to portray the darker side of the human condition, in ballets renowned for their heart-wrenching duets.
Week 6 - English Charm (La Fille mal gardée, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
Frederick Ashton puts an indelibly English stamp on a French-Italian-Russian art form in ballets that celebrate love and warm the cockles of the viewer's heart. Christopher Wheeldon continues the tradition.

Registration begins Tuesday, July 29th at 9:00 a.m.


By mail:

Print and complete the registration form and mail it to Carleton. Mailed registration forms will be processed in the order they are received.
Carleton University
Learning in Retirement
1516 Dunton Tower
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, ON
K1S 5B6

On-line:

Beginning July 29th at 9:00 a.m. please fill out and submit the on-line registration form to indicate the lecture series you’d like to register in. Following your submission of this form, the Learning in Retirement office will send you an e-mail with a secure link to the payment page.

By phone:

Beginning July 29th at 9:00 a.m. please call Carleton directly to register at 613-520-2600 ext. 1756. If the phone line is busy, please leave a message! All phone messages are responded to in chronological order. Please note that the Learning in Retirement office is no longer permitted to take credit card payment over the telephone. Those who wish to register by phone may provide payment by one of the following:

  • by mailing a CHEQUE to the address listed above
  • by paying with a CREDIT CARD online (using a link to the secure online payment system, which will be provided to you following your phone registration)
  • by coming to the Learning in Retirement office IN PERSON and paying with a cheque, credit card, or debit card

By e-mail:

Beginning July 29th at 9:00 a.m. you can register by providing the details of your registration in the body of an e-mail message. Please e-mail: Learning.in.Retirement@carleton.ca

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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Saturday, July 19, 2014

A Day in the life of a ballerina

Video from Ballet Met (Columbus, Ohio). Ballerina Samantha Lewis. Clips from James Kudelka's The Four Seasons.

This video is entered in a competition at Smithsonian.com. You can vote for it  here:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/inmotion/voting/
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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Friday, July 18, 2014

Awesome Balanchine excerpts from NYCB's best

New York City Ballet stars Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild in excerpts from Balanchine's Apollo, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, and Stars and Stripes, with possibly the world's awesomest pirouettes in attitude devant:



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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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Online reality series follows 4 YAGP hopefuls

Nigel Lythgoe, producer of So You Think You Can Dance, is launching a YouTube series starting this Friday, July 18 and running till mid-September that follows four young California ballet students as they prepare for the Youth America Grand Prix.





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.
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Monday, July 14, 2014

Cineplex Bolshoi, Royal Ballet broadcasts in Canada 2014-15 season


Cineplex theatres have announced their 2014-15 ballet season for Canada. To locate a theatre near you, please visit: http://www.cineplex.com/Events/DanceSeries
click on the showtime of the ballet you want to see, then fill in your location, and click on "find showtimes". For ballets airing on more than one date, you will have to select the second date from the drop down menu on the same page as you enter your location (no one ever said the Cineplex website is easy to navigate!) For detailed instructions on how to buy a ticket online, see this post:

http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2014/08/how-to-buy-ticket-online-for-cineplex.html

Canadian ballet fans! please complain to Cineplex Front Row Centre Events about the cancellation of Royal Ballet broadcasts. Otherwise they'll think we don't care. http://www.cineplex.com/Global/FeedbackZone/Feedback 

FRC Dance Series 
Wednesday September 24, 7pm, 
Sunday September 28, 1255 pm

Matthew Bourne’s


Sleeping Beauty

 The story begins in 1890, the year of the ballet’s first performance, at the christening of the heroine Princess Aurora. It was 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 story! Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty is a Gothic Romance that will delight dance fans of all ages and completes the choreographer’s Tchaikovsky trio of Nutcracker! and international hit Swan Lake.


FRC Dance Series 

 CANCELLED

another distributor has picked up the Royal Ballet broadcasts. Dates for screenings will differ. For information, see this post: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2014/09/landmark-cinemas-and-possibly-others.html

Thursday, October 16, 7pm

The Royal Ballet Live


Manon

Manon: Marianela Nunez
Des Grieux: Federico Bonelli

 Manon Lescaut is a beautiful young woman who falls prey to the moral corruption of 18th century Paris. Kenneth MacMillan brings Manon’s story vividly to life, with his ballet, which evokes the brutality and decadence described in Abbé Prévost’s infamous novel, as well as the feckless character of Manon herself – torn between love for the poet Des Grieux and her desire for money and attention. The cast of complex characters includes the callous Monsieur GM, the swaggering Jailer, Manon’s roguish brother Lescaut and his coquettish Mistress, but at the ballet’s heart are the duets MacMillan created for Manon and Des Grieux, which are among the most emotionally intense and erotically charged ever choreographed.




FRC Dance Series

Sunday, October 26, 1255 pm

The Bolshoi Ballet Live


The Legend of Love

The royal apartments of Queen Mekhmene Banu are plunged into mourning – her young sister, Princess Shyrin, is dying. The Princess will only be saved if the Queen gives Shyrin her beauty. The Queen decides to sacrifice herself, but later regrets her action when she is disfigured and Shyrin falls in love with the Queen’s own lover, the painter Ferkhad.
This splendid tale of forbidden love, self-sacrifice, jealousy and suffering returns to the Bolshoi stage after a ten-year absence. The Legend of Love is one of Russian master Yuri Grigorovich’s earliest choreographic works, and its storyline explores the conflict between love and duty through its two heroines.
Featuring dance movements, sets and costumes inspired by the Middle East, this stunning ballet, which uses pure dance to tell the story, is further enriched by the talent of the Bolshoi troupe.

FRC Dance Series 
Thursday, November 20, 2014, 7 pm

The Bolshoi Ballet Encore

The Pharaoh’s Daughter

Svetlana Zakharova, Nina Kaptsova, Ruslan Skvortsov. 

Young Englishman Lord Wilson is travelling through Egypt when a powerful storm breaks out. He is forced to take shelter in the nearest pyramid, where the daughter of one of Egypt’s most powerful pharaohs lies entombed. Lord Wilson falls asleep and begins to dream that the princess has come to life.
 French choreographer Pierre Lacotte was exclusively commissioned in 2000 by the Bolshoi Theatre to resurrect Marius Petipa’s mighty Egyptian fresco, and he succeeded brilliantly in giving new life to this forgotten masterpiece.
With its exotic setting, impressive parades, spectacular variations and crowd scenes, this grand 19th-century Orientalist fantasy is one of the most remarkable productions in the Bolshoi’s repertoire.

FRC Dance Series

Sunday, December 7, 1255 pm

The Bolshoi Ballet Encore


La Bayadère

Nikiya: Svetlana Zakharova

Gamzatti: Maria Alexandrova

Solor: Vladislav Lantratov

When the beautiful dancer Nikiya and the warrior Solor meet in secret, they swear eternal mutual fidelity. However, the High Brahmin, who is also in love with Nikiya, overhears them. He rushes to reveal their secret to the Rajah, who has decided that Solor will marry his beloved daughter Gamzatti.
La Bayadère (the word refers to an Indian temple dancer) is a key work in the classical repertoire and this is a magnificent production. The story of impossible love between Nikiya and Solor is set against the backdrop of a lush, mysterious India. Marius Petipa’s choreography, here in a new scenic version by Yuri Grigorovich, is exquisite; the scene known as The Kingdom of the Shades is one of the most celebrated in the history of ballet. 

FRC Dance Series

 CANCELLED

another distributor has picked up the Royal Ballet broadcasts. Dates for screenings will differ. For information, see this post: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2014/09/landmark-cinemas-and-possibly-others.html

Wednesday, December 17, 7pm

Saturday, December 20, 1255 pm

The Royal Ballet Live


Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland

Alice: Lauren Cuthbertson

Jack/Knave of Hearts: Federico Bonelli

Christopher Wheeldon’s full-length ballet based on Lewis Carroll’s book is an exuberant piece of storytelling featuring an instantly recognizable cast of characters, among them a tap-dancing Mad Hatter, a tetchy White Rabbit and a raucously bad-tempered Queen of Hearts.

Wheeldon, along with composer Joby Talbot and designer Bob Crowley, have created a genuine family ballet in the spirit of Carroll’s much-loved children’s classic. While regular ballet goers can appreciate nods to other famous works – there’s a parody of the Rose Adagio from The Sleeping Beauty, for example, with jam tarts instead of flowers – the ballet is above all a brilliant realization of Carroll’s zany dream-world featuring stunning choreography, a colourful score and ingenious stage-magic
FRC Dance Series

Sunday, December 21, 1255 pm

The Bolshoi Ballet Live


The Nutcracker

On Christmas Eve, Marie’s godfather, Drosselmeyer, gives her a strange toy: a wooden nutcracker carved in the shape of a little man. At midnight, when the celebrations are over, all the toys magically come to life. The nutcracker grows to human size and takes charge of the tin soldiers, flying to the rescue of Marie, who is threatened by the Mouse King and his mouse army.
FRC Dance Series

The Bolshoi Ballet Live


Swan Lake

Sunday, January 25, 1255 pm

At the palace, the royal family and their guests are gathered for Prince Siegfried’s birthday celebrations. In a majestic ceremony, Siegfried is made a knight; young girls try to attract his attention, as he must choose a wife during the ball. Overcome by the sudden awareness of his future responsibilities, he escapes into the night and meets a strange flock of swans by a magical lake.
White swan by day, human by night, the beautiful Odette awaits an oath of true love to break the curse. The great legend of the enigmatic swan/woman is one of the most romantic classical ballets, appropriately set in the era of courtly romance and characterised by elegance, style and harmony.



FRC Dance Series

Sunday, February 22, 1255 pm

Wednesday February 25, 7pm

Royal Winnipeg Ballet


Moulin Rouge® The Ballet

Moulin Rouge® – The Ballet  features high-kicking choreography by Jorden Morris and a passionate story of love, ambition and heartbreak. Turn of the century Paris … a city of exquisite contradiction. The heady elixir of personal freedom bred lifestyles both reckless and addictive. Drawn to Paris by the city’s passion, a flame fuelled by the hearts of lovers and the souls of poets, Mathieu and Nathalie tempt fate as they seek love and destiny at the infamous cabaret – The Moulin Rouge®. 
FRC Dance Series 
Sunday, March 8, 1255 pm

The Bolshoi Ballet Encore


Romeo and Juliet

Romeo: Alexander Volchkov 

Juliet: Anna Nikulina

In Verona, the rivalry between the Capulets and the Montagues brings bloodshed to the city. When the Capulets organise a masked ball in honour of their daughter Juliet, Romeo Montague and his friend Mercutio attend incognito because of the hatred that tears the two houses apart. Romeo and Juliet fall madly in love, and are distraught when they realise they belong to rival families.
William Shakespeare’s timeless story  is brought to the stage through Yuri Grigorovich's breathtaking choreography and Sergei Prokofiev’s much-loved score. 
 

FRC Dance Series

 CANCELLED

another distributor has picked up the Royal Ballet broadcasts. Dates for screenings will differ. For information, see this post: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2014/09/landmark-cinemas-and-possibly-others.html

Wednesday 18 March, 7 pm

The Royal Ballet Live


Swan Lake

Odette/Odile: Natalia Osipova

Prince Siegfried: Matthew Golding

Swan Lake, surely the greatest of all Romantic ballets, is the captivating story of a beautiful woman transformed into a swan, and a heart-rending tribute to the power of love. 

  In creating this production, Anthony Dowell aimed to return to an authentic version of the choreography created by the great Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov for the Mariinsky Theatre in 1895. Yolanda Sonnabend’s designs draw on the Russian Imperial Court of that period with an inspired blend of historical accuracy and gothic fantasy. The court scenes of Acts I and III have a dark glamour rooted in the opulent style of Carl Fabergé, while the famous lakeside ‘white’ acts are rich with mist, shadow and moonlight. 


FRC Dance Series

Sunday April 19, 1255 pm

The Bolshoi Ballet Live


Ivan The Terrible

As young Ivan IV is crowned, he has to choose one of the 13 Boyar daughters to be his wife and tsarina. He selects Anastasia, and the two eventually fall deeply in love. When the Boyars plot against him and poison his beloved wife, Tsar Ivan finds himself surrounded by enemies. Haunted by dark thoughts and phantoms, he slowly sinks into madness.
Drawing on the music composed by Prokofiev for the 1944 Eisenstein film, Ivan the Terrible is a work in the true Bolshoi style. Yuri Grigorovich’s powerful and fascinating epic dramatises Ivan the Terrible’s controversial reign, and portrays events in 16th-century Russia in visually stunning scenes. His choreography, full of vigour, strength and wild jumps, also includes great grace and fragility in the female roles. Sensitive classical and powerful character dance blend to create a lyrical epic, rich in the colours of medieval Russia.
Recently revived, Ivan the Terrible is an essential part of the company’s repertoire, a 20th-century classic and a wonderful theatrical experience.



FRC Dance Series

  CANCELLED

another distributor has picked up the Royal Ballet broadcasts. Dates for screenings will differ. For information, see this post: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2014/09/landmark-cinemas-and-possibly-others.html

Wednesday May 6, 7 pm

The Royal Ballet Live


La Fille mal gardée

 One of Frederick Ashton's most joyous creations, La Fille mal gardée was a resounding success on its premiere in 1960 and has remained a firm favourite in The Royal Ballet's repertory. The title translates as 'The Wayward Daughter'.


La Fille displays some of Ashton's most virtuosic choreography – the youthful passion of Lise and her lover, Colas, is expressed in a series of energetic pas de deux. The ballet is laced with good humour and a whirl of dancing chickens, grouchy guardians and halfwit suitors take to the stage. Ashton affectionately incorporated elements of national folk dance into his choreography, from a Lancashire clog dance to a maypole dance, making La Fille mal gardée (despite its title) The Royal Ballet's most emphatically English work. Osbert Lancaster's colourful designs reinforce the robust wit of the production. 


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