Archive for american balet theatre
August 20, 2008 at 12:47 pm · Filed under ballet, dance, dance event, KATE, manhattan, art, modern, city, new york, nyc, mercecunningham, new york city, abt, choreographer, modern dance, contemporary dance, new york dance, companies, city center, dance culture, dance companies, american balet theatre, KATE-M, SYREN, kate mehan, chroeographer, SYREN modern dance
This is one of the posters starting appear around the city (this one at 5th Ave N/R/W train stop). This is a great event at City Center (all tickets $10!!!) The shows are in Sept. Everything from Shen Wei, ABT, Cunningham, to Oregon Ballet Theater and much much more. A great mix, the right price, and a SUPERB venue. One of these days, we hope SYREN will get on the bill! In the meantime, we are enthusiastic supporters.
Check it out!
http://www.citycenter.org/tickets/productionNew.aspx?performanceNumber=3775
www.syrendance.org
Recent Posts by kate mehan
July 6, 2008 at 9:14 am · Filed under SUSAN, new york city, abt, performance, advice, audience, audiences, american balet theatre
The other night, I returned home after an evening of ballet-ing in an unusually funky mood. (Suffice it to say that the company in the seats beside me were far less pleasant than the excellent company on stage.)
Imagine my surprise, then, when I began flipping through the program a few days later to discover an interesting addition to that evening’s playbill. Because Volpe is so much more elegantly eloquent than I am—but, mainly, because I adore his graceful use of the (ghastly) “heinous”—I wanted to share his thoughts on:
I shall spare you the lengthy rant about the obvious blight of ringing cell phones or the agony of late arrivals stepping on our toes or that awkward moment when you find your orchestra seats being warmed by sheepish looking third balcony hopefuls. That said, let’s review the more obscure yet heinous crimes that might send us fleeing back to our home surround-sound and plasma-screen systems, and far from live performances that require us to be a part of a civilized communal experience.
Gentlemen, if you must snore, make sure your companion has sharp elbows.
Fanny packs are never an acceptable “Performing Arts” accoutrement, save it for the mall.
Humming is a crime that is almost forgivable as it’s committed unconsciously. Still, never, ever, hum along with the music—the musicians really don’t need your help.
Never leave a performance before intermission, unless you are injured and bleeding profusely. While you may be “bloody bored,” those around you are not.
Ladies, please do not bathe in your Clive Christian No. 1 perfume prior to a performance. Gentlemen, you might want to skip the cologne altogether; you are in close quarters, not the French Quarter.
Refrain from leaping to one’s feet, zealously clapping and shouting “Bravo,” while the rest of us are still waiting to hear the last glorious notes of the aria.
Dress Appropriately. We all know that casual attire is encouraged these days, but let’s keep casual from becoming catastrophic. Shorts and a tank top might be appropriate in Branson, Missouri, the home of country music, but not in Avery Fisher Hall, the Home of the New York Philharmonic. We must keep the concert halls alive by our patronage for the next generation. As a young man I would attend such transporting musical evenings wearing a borrowed jacket and dress pants purchased from the Salvation Army. I made an effort despite my “standing room” or “student ticket” status and rose to the occasion on limited funds while showing respect for the performers and fellow audience members.
There is no substitute for a live performance, whether it is ballet, classical, jazz or soul. Miss Aretha Franklin demands, and gets, what she literally spells out for us—R-E-S-P-E-C-T. And that’s what other audience members and the performers on stage deserve from all of us.
I’m embarrassed to admit that I am guilty of (at least!) one of the above violations. (Oof!)
I wonder if this strikes a chord with anyone else?
Am I an anomaly in thinking that being in the house for an evening’s performance is just as challenging (in different ways, of course) as being on the stage?
Recent Posts by susan kim
January 28, 2008 at 2:49 pm · Filed under backstage, ballet, dance, injuries, choreographers, japan, EVAN MCKIE, the stuttgart Ballet, pina bausch, national ballet of canada, wingers, website, dancebloggers, opera house, opera houses, choreographer, issues, dacners, stuttgart ballet, back injury, choreography, bolshoi ballet, suttgart ballet, ballerina, marcia haydee, web, swan lake, injury, stuttgart, paris opera ballet, chirstopher wheeldon, john cranko, reid anderson, marcela goicoechea, luis ortigoza, balet de santiago, patrcio melo, debut, american balet theatre, opening night
( …in the world of Geraldine Georges. more at www.geraldinegeorges.be )
!
It’s been awhile!… I suppose it’s high time that I share a few minutes with the ever-popular Winger family!
Though I have become more of a ‘’distant guest contributor'’ here (not my words) due to an increasingly heavy workload, I still check in from time 2 time to see what has been going down. I have been able to meet a few other contributors in 2007 and especially enjoyed catching up with David H. after a decade, seeing Patricio dance with Luis and Marcela from South America and first meeting and then sharing jet-setting tips with Christopher in a german Christmas market only to realize who it actually was a day later!!!! I also want to congratulate Kristin on being an absolute role-model this past year while making difficult life choices. I wish you, Kristin, happiness in your new position at NYCB and am glad you still manage to make time for this site. There doesn’t seem to be any other cyber-place with such a variety of different artistic voices!
I was asked recently what some of my highs and lows of 2007 were…I thought it might be a good way to discuss what’s been going on with me since I last wrote.
Aside from the little problems that can arise in a world filled with blood, sweat and tears, I found myself confronted with some more threatening issues in 2007. I became sort of plagued by a variety of significant injuries that prevented me from doing things that I REALLY wanted to be a part of; like touring to Korea again with Sue Jin Kang, creating a new role in a Christian Spuck ballet, and just generally working on improving my abilities as a dancer. This is when I was forced to realize that ‘lows’ can turn into ‘highs’ if you come at problems from the right angle. Every dancer goes through a huge injury at some point and having the advice of friends and accomplished dancers like Bridget Breiner and Robert Tewsley to guide me through was invaluable. I launched into therapy that taught me new things about my body and I learned about the power of breathing among other things. I decided to have a GREAT time and so I spent days visiting friends from Berlin to Paris. I was happy to see wonderful art and theatre in both places and meet exciting new people. One night after seeing an ABT(on tour) show at the Theatre du Chatelet I found myself on the Avenue de L’Opera. I stood staring at the beautiful Opera Garnier where I had JUST danced one month before. Now I was an invalid dancer shivering outside in the rain wondering if I’d ever be onstage again. A friend called me and invited me to hear him DJ at Le ParisParis which is also on the Avenue de L’Opera so i turned my back on the Garnier and swore to myself that I would forget the stage if just for that night and have a good time. I did but it was difficult to remove my thoughts from the theatre. During the following months I started to let go a bit and noticed an immense improvement in my condition (two ruptured and herniated discs in my lower back). The time soon came to come back to work and I was ready to take on new challenges and more mentally/spiritually prepared to do so than I was before I left for therapy.
Because things move so quick here (the company has had about 70 shows since I penned my last post even…), I was back onstage within a 2 week time period. Being there this time was like a new experience though. I enjoyed myself more than ever because I could feel that through letting go of the ’silly stresses’ of dancing, I had matured as an artist…if even just a tiny bit. 
I won’t bore with other small details that followed this event but I will mention one thing that happened right around that time that I consider to be a highlight of my year: I was cast as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake!
I was going to dance my first principal dancer role with a great big company AND my partner would be doing it for the fist time aswell! What happened next was a combination of greatness and misfortune…
My Odette/Odile, Linda and I rehearsed and rehearsed. The company and staff were so behind us and I felt incredible chemistry with my partner. We were finally ready to dance our first show! We stepped onstage together and with adrenaline flowing heavily, we delivered to a hungry audience that was eager to witness our virgin attempt of the Tchaikovsky classic. Things went well and the excitement increased as we completed the 3rd act where the sorcerer’s evil swan daughter deceives the Prince and tricks him into marriage. It was time to ‘fall into’ the beauty of the 4th and final act that has a tragic love pas de deux that is exclusive to the Cranko version. We danced together for what was to be the Swan and the Prince’s final dance before she is turned back into a swan creature indefinitely and the Prince drowns trying to save her. I could feel her breath on my neck and the moment was magic when suddenly there was a funny sounding click and I realized that my partner’s shoulder had come dislocated in one of those backwards port de bras movements that distinguished the swan from all other classical roles. We exited the stage and she courageously held-in screams as the orchestra played on. Her shoulder wouldn’t pop back in and it was a devastating sight. I ran back onto stage and somehow managed to improvise with the corps de ballet of swan girls as if I was looking for the swan queen who I had lost somehow. 5 whole minutes played out as I performed the ballet til the end while wishing I could somehow help my beautiful partner who was by now being taken to the hospital.
Thankfully no lasting damage was done to Linda’s body but mentally it was difficult for everybody invloved to have been a part of such a beautiful process that was abrubtly cut short. The newspapers carried the story in their headlines and there was an influx of well-wishing notes. Linda still needed time to recover so I was scheduled to dance with Anna, another of my frequent partners. I was sad to see Linda watch as I rehearsed with another soloist just a day later but the show HAD to go on. Luckily Anna and I have chemistry that matches the intensity of Linda and mine together. This is rare (the two ladies share the same birthday too) but I was happy to be dancing with her and glad to not have to try and manufacture any feelings that should come naturally. Our show went over well and I felt the confidence that only a second show can bring. My ballerina told me she had never had so much fun and I believed her.
Since that time the direction was kind enough to give Linda a chance to redeem herself in the role and we danced the ballet, in it’s entirety, on a Christmas tour of Spain. Due to the incedible emotional journey that the ballet inspired for me, I’d definitely put Swan Lake at the top of my personal 2007 ‘crucial moments’ list.
4th Act embrace with Anna Osadcenko in ‘Swan Lake’ with the Stuttgart Ballet. Galina Mezentseva as Odette.
As Stuttgart’s autumn season brought scattered flurries to the Schlossgarten outside the theatre, indoors there was a blizzard of different ballets being performed. ‘The CRANKO festival’ was underway. Infact it was all planned far in advance to celebrate the company’s founder. We all danced a long list of roles that Cranko had created for his star-personalities of the time and many of them came back to help us get into each individual role. I danced Lenski in Onegin and special parts in ‘Brouillards’, ‘Jeu de Cartes’ , ‘Holberg Pas de Deux’ and ‘Initials’. Infact, I just debuted over this past weekend for the final two shows of ‘Initials’ in the hauntingly beautiful pas de deux created for Marcia Haydee and Heinz Claus from the 3rd movement. ‘Initials’ is one of those rare ballet’s that demands a large company fueled by a sense of camaraderie. Four principals represent four seasons and the music by Brahms is so powerful and melodic that it is hard for me to imagine it without steps attached. The choreography is difficult and there are alot of leading roles so that everyone has their own personal responsability to the ballet. We were all in it together and every single person felt like an important ingredient that was required to bring this ballet to fruition. The Cranko festival was a ‘high’ for me because it afforded me with the chance to dance roles that I loved while being a part of a 3 month long seminar-like expereince where I was able to focus solely on what made Cranko, the choreographer tick. I saw footage that I had never seen before, saw roles that had been lost in ballet history and celebrated (night after night) the ballets and steps that made the choreographer so famous. There were gala events where guests were invited to come dance all of the most popular Cranko roles. How lucky for them to be able to dance such roles on the stage where they were first received and how lucky for us, here, to be able to see how other artists interpret the roles that we know so well. (Alina Cojucaru as ‘Tatiana’ from ‘’Onegin'’ was one of my favourites.) I also thouroghly enjoyed getting to know Polina Semionova while dancing ‘Lenski’ with her ‘Tatiana’ in a special gala performance of ‘’Onegin'’.
1st time Siegfried in ‘’Swan Lake'’. Flirting with Katja Wünsche’s ‘Olga’ in ‘’Onegin'’
I’ll leave it at that for now as the new year is well underway now and I want to go out and accomplish brand-new things to reflect on at a later date. Altogether, I feel good about celebrating the ups and downs that my career as a ballet dancer brought me in 2007 and I want to make sure to thank the people who have celebrated WITH me! Whether it’s european balletomanes, my family and colleagues, or original Stuttgart Ballet members (antiques) who encouraged me to keep writing here at the WINGER (.. ..) I have recently been getting alot of attention in Japan aswell and am frankly quite baffled by it as I have only ever done ONE show there!..BUT I am always thrilled to receive the notes and extremely creative gifts from my friends in and around Tokyo. I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I am thankful and proud to have such a dance-educated group be interested in me! Thank you.
Let’s see what’s in store for ‘08. I promise to do my ballet-best 
!………
-Ev
Photos: The Stuttgart Ballet. (I am sorry I only have the few from recent while. The truth is I don’t have that many at my disposal!)
Artwork: a gift from the amazing Geraldine Georges
www.geraldinegeorges.be
Recent Posts by Evan McKie
November 28, 2007 at 2:29 pm · Filed under ballet, dance, tour, travel, architecture, projects, DAVID, american ballet theater, Repertory, cities, architects, opera houses, david hallberg, traveling, companies, process, san francsico, benjamin millepied, giselle, american balet theatre
As the City Center season winded down and ABT went on a week tour to Berkeley, CA, bringing some of the rep. that we did in NYC, the dancers then embarked on a four week lay off. My travels brought me all over the country, and then to Europe for a week of preparations for an upcoming debut.
The week in Berkeley was filled not only with performing repetoire that I enjoy very much, Ballo Della Regina and Benjamin Millepied’s From Here on Out, but also all the advantages that Northern California can bring. I had a wonderful meal at Chez Panisse, hailed as one of the best restaurants in the country, and soaked up some great art, the photography especially interesting, at San Fransisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA).
Outside my house, Camelback Mountain
With the tour finished and with the reason that I don’t get home to Phoenix as often as I would like, I spent a quick 48 hours being pampered by the ‘rents’ as only ‘rents’ could do. But most importantly, seeing my BEAUTIFUL GOLDENS, as I have shared with you in past enteries.
On to Minneapolis, where I spent another 48 hours gawking at the architecturally stunning Walker Art Center, newly redone by Herzog and De Meuron, the same architects that completed the refurbishment of the De Young Museum in San Fran, as Sloan pointed out on a recent visit. I had a much anticipated meeting with a very well respected artist that might possibly turn into a future project. We shall see…
The Opera House in Amsterdam
I only stopped over in New York, to do a little laundry and re pack my bags, to go onto Amsterdam for a week. Guillaume Graffin, a former Paris Opera trained and 17 year principal/ballet master with ABT, moved to Amsterdam 2 years ago and joined the Dutch National Ballet as ballet master. When he was working over at ABT, we formed a certain bond in the studio… he having coached me in my first full length ballet with the company, Swan Lake. I have always wanted to go over there and work with him, continuing my desire to learn from him as an artist, and I finally had the free time to do so. I am going to debut Giselle in the spring, with none other than Stella Abrera, GORGEOUS dancer with the company, dancing the lead. One of Guillaume’s great roles was Albrecht in Giselle, and I found the opportunity of him passing on his expertise to a fresh Albrecht something that I couldn’t pass up.
Guillaume in Giselle
The week was an intense one, mainly just talking about the character of Albrecht, and dissecting what to portray through out the story. Guillaume is such an intuitive artist, that I can only try and absorb what he tells me ‘he did’ or chose ‘not to do’ when he was dancing the role. It will take much more preparation for the actual debut but it was really nice to break the ice with someone I respect so much.
And that leads me here… back home, working on more preparations for the Met Season, and at my computer, finally with internet service and The WInger.
Recent Posts by david hallberg
October 24, 2007 at 2:30 pm · Filed under dance, rehearsal, studio, 890 broadway, MATTHEW, philip glass, american balet theatre, jorma elo, chuck close
On we go through the journey inside 890 Broadway and the hectic preparations for City Center. It’s hard to believe that performances began last night, but before you know it the two weeks will be over. Fortunately I still have tons of pictures left to share, starting today with a glimpse inside one of the world premiere ballets this year “Close to Chuck,” by Jorma Elo.
Jorma choreographed the fantastic “Glow Stop” on the company last year and while “Chuck” uses his signature movement style, it’s certainly an entirely new entity. It’s a rather small ballet (only six people) and the other day I had the chance to photograph Craig Salstein and Jackie Reyes rehearsing a few of their sections. Don’t forget to buy your tickets!
(Mikey Mouse (notice Craig’s shirt) prepares to lift Minnie.)
(One of my favorite pictures from the day.)
(From the other side.)
(Jorma looks on.)
(Playing with angles.)
(Clarifying positions.)
(Maintaining serenity.)
Recent Posts by matthew
