This season we began creating short pieces on individual ballets in our repertory, which incorporate performance footage from multiple perspectives (including backstage wing or fly shots) plus interviews with artists (in this case Adrian - who was just promoted to soloist, yay! - and Gina) who are intimately connected to the piece and can provide some additional insight from an insiders point of view.
The idea is for the viewer to quickly gain an aesthetic sense of the ballet through visuals and music, establish a personal connection through the artists who are speaking about the ballet, and to have an initial sense of what they can expect or look for if they see the full piece in performance.
The above example features Jerome Robbins’ ballet Glass Pieces. Glass Pieces will be performed this Sunday the 29th - the very last performance of the New York Winter Season - which also includes Hallelujah Junction, Tarentella and Stars and Stripes.
More on Glass Pieces from a few of our friends:
Oberon’s Grove
Dancing Perfectly Free
rldixon
My impression about these short videos is that they were hugely successful this season, at least at the ten or so Saturday night performances my wife & I attended this Winter.
People in the lobby, while waiting admission to the theatre, are generally fixed on the video screen; I wish the audio volume was just a bit higher (and I’m not deaf, yet) to supplement the excellent video. During intermissions, I also saw a number of people watching these videos closely.
The shots from overhead and the wings are incredible; your videographer is to be complimented, because the technical and lighting difficulties are obvious.
We’re looking forward to more of these. Good luck!
Mar 01, 2009 @ 17:18
Natalie W.
Hello Kristin,
Love your posts on Winger! I am doing an oral history graduate studies project (preserving peoples’ stories for the future) and am hoping to focus on the lives of five or six ballet dancers. I’d love to have you participate, either by an in-person or phone interview. If you’re interested, please email me! Thanks so much!
Natalie
Apr 02, 2009 @ 13:40