Rainy Rehearsal
After a two month hiatus, the NYCB officially returned to work last week and has begun rehearsals for the upcoming season. This is always an exciting time of year for the dancers because we spend our days rehearsing new ballets that will be premiering in the winter, as well as rehearse the ballets that are returning to our repertory after long absences.
So what’s with all of the umbrellas? This was taken during a rehearsal for The Concert, a hysterical ballet that’s one part dance and two parts witty social commentary. When I took this, the dancers were placing the famous “Rain” section of the ballet, hence all of the umbrellas. Good thing none of us are superstitious!
A Little More From Saratoga
A few last backstage shots from Saratoga…
Sterling Hyltin adjusts her shoes before “Jeu de Cartes”.
Alina Dronova rests between entrances of “Serenade”.
Katie Morgan waits her turn in the wings.
Dara Johnson gets dressed for “Aurora’s Wedding”.
Glenn Keenan and Craig Hall on stage at SPAC before a rehearsal.
Vinny Paradiso and Tyler Angle watch their colleagues from the wings.
Dancers preparing to enter from stage left.
Audience members enjoy the performance from the lawn during a Saturday matinee.
Jewels in Toga
Hi guys! I’m back from Saratoga and finally had the chance to post more of the pictures that I took while I was up there. Below are three shots of the stage during a performance of Jewels, just before the curtain went up for Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds respectively.
More to come soon…
Saratoga Pig Roast
Greetings from Saratoga! As Kristin already mentioned, last weekend Faye, Adrian and Austin invited the entire company over to their Saratoga home for a barbecue, complete with a pig that they roasted themselves in their own backyard. What a fun way to relax on a Sunday afternoon after a hard first week of performances!
Pauline Golbin with her son, August.
Our charming host, Adrian, on the grill.
Dena Abergel with her daughter, Odelia.
Tyler Angle playing with little Odelia.
The guests gathering around to have a look at the pig.
Faye’s boyfriend, Ryder, carving the pig. (Vegetarians might want to skip this one.)
A game of badminton in progress.
Last but not least…Tess and I made these little piggy cupcakes to commemorate the occasion 
- Rainy Rehearsal - October 23rd, 2007
- A Little More From Saratoga - August 1st, 2007
- Jewels in Toga - July 27th, 2007
- A Gift from Chris - June 9th, 2007
- Serenade - May 30th, 2007
- Faye as a “Sonnambacchante” - May 22nd, 2007
- AIDS Walk 2007 - May 9th, 2007
- We’re Back! - April 30th, 2007
- Backstage During Beauty - January 16th, 2007
- One Last Nutcracker Post! - January 4th, 2007
A Gift from Chris
Tonight marked the premiere of Chris Wheeldon’s new ballet, “The Nightingale and the Rose”. When the corps de ballet came offstage after the performance, a single rose was waiting for each of us, color coordinated to match the color of the rose bush we each portrayed in the ballet. A very sweet gesture.
Thanks, Chris and congratulations!!
Serenade
Backstage before “Serenade”, just before the “places” call.
This picture is actually from last season, but I thought it would be nice to post now considering that “Serenade” opens tonight’s program.
There is something so special about the mood on stage before this ballet begins. With its nearly all-female cast, “Serenade” is a ballet that is steeped in a strong theme of sisterhood. That concept really carries over to the atmosphere backstage, and as we collect together under those tranquil blue lights, waiting for the curtain to rise, the feeling of solidarity among us girls is palpable.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that “Serenade” is one of every corps girl’s favorite ballets to perform, and for good reason. Really, it doesn’t get much better than performing to that brilliant Tschaikovsky score, luxuriating in the sweeping steps of the choreography as you feel the tulle of your dress wafting delicately behind you. It’s always satisfying to perform a work that is consistently well received by an audience, but it’s the fact that this ballet is such a pleasure to dance that really makes it so special to those of us who dance it.
Faye as a “Sonnambacchante”
Faye Arthurs, entertaining me in the dressing room by sporting her mask from “La Sonnambula” with my bacchante wig from “Orpheus”.
Personally, I think it’s a good look.
AIDS Walk 2007
Dancers Ashley Bouder and Tom Gold have been working overtime to raise money for this year’s AIDS walk. In addition to collecting individual contributions from fellow company members, they are also hosting bake sales on Saturday afternoons before the matinee, selling their own homemade goodies. Everyone agrees that they’re doing an awesome job (although I’m not so sure that the wardrobe department is thrilled with seeing the dancers eating gooey chocolate cupcakes in their costumes!)
Way to go guys!
For more information on the Aids Walk 2007 and to see how you can contribute, Click Here.
We’re Back!
Ashley Laracey, applying her make up in the dressing room before Thursday night’s performance.
Hey Guys!
As many of you already know, this past Tuesday marked the opening night of NYCB’s spring
season! As a tribute to Lincoln Kirstein, the company performed a series of all-Balanchine programs throughout the week, a total of ten ballets in all. It’s always a wonderful feeling to begin performing again after being away from the stage for a long period of time, but there was something particularly satisfying about coming back to perform so many classic Balanchine masterpieces all at once.
Of course, performing a week’s worth of classic Balanchine programming can also be quite a challenge. In fact, some of the most famous Balanchine works are also some of the most demanding in our repertory. Ballets like Symphony in C, Square Dance and Concerto Barocco are all known for their technical demands, as well as for the ways in which they test your stamina and endurance. It’s a good thing the female corps was feeling refreshed and energized last week, because we were all really dancing our butts off!
On another note, the company completely switched gears last night for the open dress rehearsal of Romeo + Juliet. After so many hours of rehearsing in the studio, it was really exciting for the company to finally perform the ballet in front of an audience. Since my cast won’t perform the ballet until Thursday night, I was able to watch last night’s rehearsal from the front of the house. It was so interesting to experience the ballet with people who were seeing it for the first time! Speaking of, were any of the winger readers in attendance last night?
Backstage During Beauty
After two weeks and 13 performances, our run of The Sleeping Beauty came to a close last night. Here’s a brief glimpse at what was happening behind the scenes.
Savannah and Saskia apply their make up in the girls’ dressing room.
Robbie poses in his fairy cavalier costume before heading down to the stage level.
Devin checks to make sure his faux goatee is firmly in place.
The lovely Dena prepares to perform the role of the queen by having her wig and crown put on. Dena, Saskia and I all shared this role, so I can tell you from personal experience that this headpiece isn’t light!
Alina in her wonderful cat make up and headpiece.
Faye and Ashley share a quick hug backstage amongst the brambles.
A conversation in the wings.
