Archive for nycb
April 16, 2007 at 5:29 pm · Filed under choreographers, studio, dancers, royal ballet, pacific northwest ballet, nycb, hamburg ballet, abt, san francisco ballet, choreography, CHRIS, morphoses, bolshoi ballet, christopher wheeldon, washington ballet, the ballet boyz, liv lorent
Photo by Yaniv Schulman
Hi there, Chris Wheeldon here with a first post for the Winger. I hope you guys will enjoy my posts recounting the adventures of building my new ballet company. I hope to also report on some of the experiences with some of the great dancers and companies I am fortunate enough to get to work with.
Wow, the last few months have been incredible. It’s been exhilarating, exhausting, and as much of a high-speed ride as anyone can endure in a short period of time.
Even before the actual work of forming a new dance company has begun in full, just announcing Morphoses brought with it a large amount of interest and expectations, and that alone has added to the intensity of each day.
Since January I have completed and premiered ‘Elsinore‘ (originally Misericordes) for the Bolshoi Ballet, rehearsed and staged Polyphonia in Seattle and Boston, as well as Carousel in New York and with three wonderful casts in San Francisco. I just returned from Washington D.C where Washington Ballet gave a fine performance of Morphoses (the ballet).
I feel fortunate for all of these experiences with different dancers and daily my respect grows for these wonderful people who embrace my choreography with every fibre, both emotionally and physically.
Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company is still quite a long way in coming, although we will form as a pick up group for performances this summer. Our goals are longevity and a permanent company, which requires some serious time for planning and building a secure infrastructure.
I have an awesome roster of dancers including Wendy Whelan and Maria Kowroski from City Ballet. Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg from Royal. Angel Corella from ABT .The Ballet Boyz from the UK and Anastasia Yatsenko from The Bolshoi. She was in my recent ballet ‘Elsinore’ and is absolutely beautiful . I was so impressed by her commitment to my work that she is coming to New York for our City Center season. We also have Gonzalo Garcia from San Francisco, Laeticia Guiliani from Florence, Helene Bouchet and Thiago Bourdin from Hamburg and Carla Körbes and Miranda Weese from PNB. In London Alexandra Ansanelli dances with Angel Corella in Balanchine’s Allegro Brilliante. The rest of the rep is some my work including ‘After The Rain‘ and ‘Polyphonia’ mixed with some Forsythe , Michael Clark and Liv Lorent. It’s going to be really exciting. I have also asked ex-City Ballet dancer Edwaard Liang to make a new duet. This along with two brand new works of mine will make up the world premieres for this season. Of course these dancers are on loan for the summer but we hope that sooner rather than later we will be able to hire some permanent members of Morphoses.
Over the past few months, people have been asking me why I want a small company of only 20 dancers. There are several reasons, but it took my experience with rehearsing ‘Carousel’ at San Francisco Ballet in March to help me to understand the reason that remains at the forefront.
During the two weeks I spent on the West Coast, I watched three casts blossom in my ballet ‘Carousel.’ Each one introduced me to something new in my choreography that I hadn’t seen before. What was most interesting, however, was how they inspired and shaped my ideas about the coaching of a ballet.
It is always an honor when a company asks for an existing ballet to be taken into their repertoire, but I have to admit that I have not up until now fully enjoyed the process of coaching dancers in existing roles. I have always focused on the next new ballet.
One of the things that was so rewarding about my time in San Francisco was working with two corps girls in the same lead role.
Being a choreographer is an honor in the sense that you can offer great opportunities to people you believe in. I think that there is nothing more rewarding than molding a young dancer in a leading role. No matter how rough things are to begin with, it is about persistence and a belief that in the end they can see it through. Too often ballet masters and choreographers give up at that crucial point in the process right before the breakthrough. It’s true that it can be frustrating when all you are getting are brief glimpses of full potential over a long period of time, but if you encourage and are patient and truly persistent in your demands, coaxing and often insisting, there is almost always a great pay off. You watch the dancer as they begin to understand their possibilities: that powerful moment when the intellectual understanding becomes physical understanding and the freedom of pure dancing takes over.
I can’t think of a prouder moment watching my three principal casts of ‘Carousel’. They all took great strides and had personal artistic triumphs. Mostly with the corps girls it was about coaxing natural and unaffected dramatic performances and combining that with a keener sense of the shapes their bodies made, using their articulation and physicality to express naturally. It is tough to shed the layers of pretense that we think amounts to acting onstage. Much of the purely classical work that we train for encourages a stylized approach to acting. I wanted both girls to be the honest in her interpretation. In the end they were both absolutely wonderful and I hope they discovered a new side to their gifts. This process with these three casts is ultimately for me what it is all about and why we do what we do. Using each other as artists to discover our potential in order to deliver generous and honest performances to the public. These dancers helped me to believe in the process and to trust in my instincts to not give up after one or two rehearsals when it seems that progress is slow. After all, dancers develop at different speeds both in the course of their careers and over the process of learning and rehearsing a single role.
I look forward to my next couple of trips to The Australian Ballet in Sydney for a staging of ‘After The Rain’ and then on to Houston for ‘Carnival of The Animals‘. I really hope to report on both trips.
Right now I am working on ‘The Nightingale and The Rose’ based on the fairy tale by Oscar Wilde . This is a new ballet for The New York City Ballet Spring Season. So far it has been a tough experience as I have some issues with the commissioned score, but think that’s another story !
Take care all. I am thrilled to be able to be a part of this excellent site.
CHRIS WHEELDON.
Recent Posts by christopher wheeldon
March 25, 2007 at 12:09 am · Filed under SLOAN, new york city ballet, video, nycb, website, new york city, romeo and juliet, project, editing, r+j, tragiclovenyc.com
For the past three months or so I’ve been working hard, gathering footage and piecing it together…
I’ve been given the opportunity to show, through video over the internet, the behind-the-scenes of the making of New York City Ballet’s new full-length production of Romeo + Juliet. The ballet will have its premier at the company’s Spring Gala on May 1st, but the new mini-site (tragiclovenyc.com designed by ink&co and built by IMA) where the video diary episodes will continue to be posted went live on Thursday.
At least one new episode will be posted each week, from now until the show premiers… so this is pretty much what my computer screen will look like for the next month and a half.
It’s been a lot of fun getting to interview the people involved in the production, and to see and shoot some of the things that I usually do not see. I’m so glad that NYCB is embracing the power of the internet (sounds cheesy but true) and making this happen. I’m excited to get to share the experience with everyone and I hope you enjoy it!
Recent Posts by kristin sloan
February 8, 2007 at 6:26 pm · Filed under SLOAN, new york city ballet, dancers, nycb, patrons, speaking, grandiva
Posted by Sloan
This past Tuesday I spoke on a panel for New York City Ballet’s Society in C group on dancers’ outside interests. Society in C is NYCB’s young patrons group, and on the panel with me was Kyle Froman, who started photographing dancers backstage and is now publishing a book called “In The Wings”, and Aaron Severini (above), who composes music mainly for choreographers but occasionally does commercial work as well. Moderating the evening was Ian Archer-Watters, who was a ballet dancer with Fort Worth Ballet and St. Louis Ballet, then worked with NYCB in their development department, and is now a star in Les Ballets Grandiva, an all-male dance company that tours extensively and even does their own versions of Balanchine ballets, like Semi Precious Stones (Jewels) and Serenadiana (Serenade).
It was my first time doing something like this… I feel like I may have talked too much, but it was a lot of fun and I got to meet some interesting people. Some of the attendees noted that it seemed like the three of us had never met before. I think dancers don’t generally talk too much about what they do outside of the theater, so although I work with Kyle and Aaron all the time, I really didn’t know the details about their outside activities… but now I guess I do. Thanks Julia for this fun opportunity!
Recent Posts by kristin sloan
January 21, 2007 at 7:22 pm · Filed under SLOAN, dance, schools, nycb, sab, students, education
Posted by Sloan
This week I attended a presentation by the New York City Ballet Education Department of their Ballet Bridges program, which exposes students in New York and New Jersey area schools to dance, choreography, and performance. They also get the opportunity to see dancers from the School of American Ballet perform at their school, and to see New York City Ballet dancers in performances at Lincoln Center.
Before entering studio 3 of the Samuel B. & David Rose Building, where the event was starting, I slid into studio 2 to take a few shots of the School of American Ballet students getting ready for their rehearsal, which we would see later on in the night.
(Notice the ubiquitous knit booties. These were popular back when I was at SAB, as I am sure they were even before then. There also happens to be a Himalayan Crafts store which sells them on Broadway, just a few blocks from Lincoln Center.)
The projection in the back is part of the presentation they give at various schools.
And in the left corner… Dance Demonstration Technology in action.
The first part of the evening was a presentation by Mr. Ronald Treanor (first photo above), principal of the Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in Union City, NJ, and three of his teachers who participate in the Ballet Bridges program.
All of them spoke passionately about the program and how much it meant for their school to be a part of it. Mr. Treanor was so proud of his school and its students - and it showed. I heard a few of the teachers in the audience half-joking about asking him if he had any positions available. Inspiring stuff.
Prompted by a question from an audience member, Mr. Treanor explained that the program also helped his students bond in a new way with their parents. He said many of his students live in Hispanic homes, where language can be a barrier between the parents and their children who learn all their classes in English. But this dance program transcends this language barrier, and the projects the children do are things that their parents can more easily be involved in. Amazing.
They also showed a few videos of the students in school, learning steps, learning how to choreograph steps, giving dance performances for their peers, and visiting Lincoln Center. Two adorable students from Woodrow Wilson were also in attendance and answered some questions from the audience. (They said they enjoyed the choreography and performance aspects of the program the best).
It really blew me away how massive this program is, which I was told reached about 3,400 students last year. The schools also make an effort to incorporate the dance training with the students’ academic training, sometimes by using the theme of their academic studies to inspire their dance projects. For instance, one school made a dance about interacting molecules, because that’s what they were learning in their other classes.
John, from NYCB’s Education Department, tells us all it’s time to move along to studio 2 to watch a rehearsal of what the SAB students will perform for the school students.
This is such a great opportunity for both sides of the equation. The school students get to see nearly professional level dancing, and demonstrations of Balanchine ballets and technique, and the SAB students get to learn, rehearse, and perform ballets that hopefully they will be performing with a professional company someday.
My seat from the second row of chairs. On the wall is a projection of portraits of Lincoln Kirstein. Throughout the lecture/demonstration, the “teaching artist” tells students about the beginnings of SAB and NYCB.
The teaching artist (above) is someone who goes to the schools, teaches the students dance moves, works with them on choreography, and presents these lecture/demonstrations with the SAB students. He was very enthusiastic and entertaining.
Two SAB students showing a pas de deux from Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments.
The proud and watchful “mom”…
Former NYCB soloist Katrina Killian (standing by the piano) now runs SAB’s lecture/demonstration program, which was originally started by Suki Schorer at the suggestion of Mr. B himself.
On this particular program is a Theme from Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, and Tarantella. They will also perform the Four Little Swans from Swan Lake and an excerpt from Stars and Stripes, both of which we did not see.
… Taking a breather after the notoriously difficult Tarantella.
Smiling and waiting to take their bows.
The kids did such a great job! And that’s always such an uncomfortable performing environment (at least I always thought so) with the bright studio lights and rows of people watching you from a few feet away.
Thanks to the SAB students for doing such a great job and letting us in on their rehearsal, to the teachers and students from Woodrow Wilson Elementary School for sharing their experience, and a big thanks to John for inviting me to come see some of the wonderful things the NYCB Education Department does outside Lincoln Center!
Recent Posts by kristin sloan
January 16, 2007 at 4:44 am · Filed under backstage, new york city ballet, new york state theater, dressing room, GWYNETH, nycb, sleeping beauty
| | Posted by Gwyneth
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.
Recent Posts by gwyneth muller
January 14, 2007 at 4:26 pm · Filed under SLOAN, friends, nycb, sleepingbeauty, lincolncenter, restaurants, wingers, sterling hyltin
Posted by Sloan
This past Thursday night I had the pleasure of meeting our own Ms. Susan Kim. She’s visiting New York this week, so we coordinated to see NYCB’s Sleeping Beauty together.
In the lobby during intermission.
Heading up the stairs to the promenade, the beautiful shiny white butts of the New York State Theater’s Elie Nadelman sculptures.
The bustling promenade, with the sculptures in the back.
Our fantastic ceiling, just before the house lights went down.
Thursday night also happened to be my dressingroommate Sterling Hyltin’s debut as Aurora. She was soooo beautiful… And strong! She amazes me.
All the girls in our dressing room got her a gift certificate to Rosa Mexicana, the popular spot across the street from the theater to celebrate her performance.
Here’s a better shot of the gnarly brambles that hang out backstage.
Afterward, Susan, my mom, and I all met my friend Erica from the Sun at Rosa Mexicana for a pomegranate margarita. So nice to meet you in person Susan!
Recent Posts by kristin sloan
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