Alexandra Ansanelli is joining the Royal Ballet as a first soloist: http://info.royaloperahouse.org/News/Index.cfm?ccs=925

I noticed the blurb below on the NYCB website. Michael Kaiser, the champion of Farrell and the skilled and very patient consensus builder, is having public and presumably private counseling, I mean, interview sessions with Peter Martins. Who more perfect than Kaiser to mediate these two - except for maybe Balanchine himself? This looks like a positive step in the right direction.

PETER MARTINS AT THE KENNEDY CENTER
On January 30, 2006, Peter Martins, NYCB's Ballet Master in Chief, will be interviewed by Michael M. Kaiser, President of The Kennedy Center, as part of the Center Voices of the Arts seminar series. This one-on-one exchange will take place at the Kenendy Center's Terrace Theater. Tickets are $12 each. Tickets can be purchased online by going to kennedy-center.org/programs/voices or by telephoning 1-800-444-1324.

I'd pay $12 to see that -- and ten times more to be a fly on the wall in the green room before.

An intriguing interview with NYCB principal Damian Woetzel:



For more, click here

An unusually balanced piece by R. D. Adams in the New York Press as a preview to the 2006 Winter Season:

New York Press

BRINGING BALANCHINE BACK FILM SHOWING
Bringing Balanchine Back, the documentary film of New York City Ballet’s triumphant return to St. Petersburg, Russia on the occasion of the city’s 300th Anniversary in 2003, will be screened on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 at 1:00pm at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center, 165 West 65th Street (Plaza Level) as part of the Dance on Camera Festival 2006 presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in collaboration with Dance Films Association, Inc. Tickets are $10 each.

STUDIO TALK: SUNDAY, 01/08/06, 1:45pm
NYCB Principal Dancer Jenifer Ringer will discuss her 2006 debut in the role of "Odette/Odile" in Peter Martins' Swan Lake with moderator Joan Quatrano prior to the January 8 matinee performance. This event, designed for adult and young audiences, will take place in Studio #3 of the Samuel B. & David Rose Building (corner of 65th St. & Amsterdam Ave.). Tickets for the Studio Talk at $8.00 each can be purchased at the New York State Theater Box Office. Performance tickets must be purchased separately.

Click here for more.

From the NY Times' 'Arts Briefly' column:



http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/02/arts/02arts.html

The Winter Repertory Season begins:



For more, click here

Casting for the first two weeks of the season...

A tidbit...according to corps member Kristin Sloan's blog, the rights to 'Symphony in C' are now owned by SAB and the money earned from performances will now go to a SAB scholarship fund. Sounds like a win-win situation to me!

Highlights:

* Debuts galore in "Swan Lake"
-- Sofiane Sylve, Ashley Bouder, Jennifer Ringer and corps dancer Sara Mearns as Odile/Odette
-- Sebastian Marcovici and Benjamin Millepied as the Prince (Nikolaj Hübbe was originally listed, which would have been a real treat)
-- Antonio Carmena, Sean Suozzi, Andrew Veyette as Benno
-- Austin Laurent as the jester

(Ask la Cour seems to MIA from casting, which is a shame as he was a fabulous Von Rothbart in previous years)


JANUARY 10-15, 2006

TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 10 AT 7:30PM [Quinn]
Swan Lake:
Odette/Odile: WHELAN
Pr. Siegfried: WOETZEL
Von Rothbart: La FOSSE+
Queen: ABERGEL
Jester: ULBRICHT
Benno: VEYETTE
Pas de Trois: LeCRONE, SLOAN
Pas de Quatre: BOUDER, SCHELLER, PECK, MILLEPIED
Hungarian: LOWERY, FOWLER
Russian: BORREE, EVANS
Spanish: BAR, HALL, MEARNS, J. STAFFORD
Neapolitan: DRONOVA, CARMENA
Princesses: GOLBIN, KROHN, LARACEY, BARAK, BESKOW, ARTHURS
Vision: HANSON

WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 11 AT 7:30PM [Kaplow]
Swan Lake:
Odette/Odile: WEESE
Pr. Siegfried: ASKEGARD
Von Rothbart: EVANS
Queen: HANSON
Jester: GOLD
Benno: HANNA
Pas de Trois: HYLTIN, A. STAFFORD
Pas de Quatre: FAIRCHILD, SCHELLER, PECK, DE LUZ
Hungarian: RUTHERFORD, LIANG
Russian: KROHN, RAMASAR
Spanish: BESKOW, SETH, ABERGEL, T. ANGLE
Neapolitan: EDGE, HENDRICKSON
Princesses: GOLBIN, MULLER, LeCRONE*, SLOAN*, BAR, ARTHURS
Vision: RIGGINS

THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 12 AT 8:00PM [Quinn]
Swan Lake:
Odette/Odile: RINGER
Pr. Siegfried: MARCOVICI
Von Rothbart: SETH
Queen: ABERGEL
Jester: HENDRICKSON
Benno: VEYETTE
Pas de Trois: LeCRONE, SLOAN
Pas de Quatre: FAIRCHILD, SCHELLER, PECK, DE LUZ
Hungarian: LOWERY, FOWLER
Russian: BORREE, EVANS
Spanish: GOLBIN, SUOZZI, MULLER, RAMASAR
Neapolitan: DRONOVA, CARMENA
Princesses: KEENAN, KROHN, LeCRONE, BARAK, BESKOW, RICARD*
Vision: RIGGINS

FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 13 AT 8:00PM [Kaplow]
Swan Lake:
Odette/Odile: BOUDER*
Pr. Siegfried: MILLEPIED*
Von Rothbart: La FOSSE+
Queen: HANSON
Jester: GOLD
Benno: DANCHIG-WARING*
Pas de Trois: DRONOVA*, RIGGINS
Pas de Quatre: RINGER, A. STAFFORD, HYLTIN*, J. STAFFORD
Hungarian: RUTHERFORD, LIANG
Russian: REICHLEN*, HANNA*
Spanish: BAR, FOWLER, ARTHURS*, FROMAN
Neapolitan: EDGE, SEVERINI
Princesses: KEENAN, MULLER, LARACEY, ABERGEL, FLACK*, RICARD
Vision: RIGGINS

SATURDAY MATINEE, JANUARY 14 AT 2:00PM [Quinn]
Swan Lake:
Odette/Odile: MEARNS*
Pr. Siegfried: MARTINS
Von Rothbart: SETH
Queen: ABERGEL
Jester: LAURENT*
Benno: CARMENA*
Pas de Trois: HYLTIN, A. STAFFORD
Pas de Quatre: FAIRCHILD, SCHELLER, PECK, VEYETTE*
Hungarian: BESKOW*, T. ANGLE*
Russian: KROHN, RAMASAR
Spanish: LOWERY*, FOWLER, ARTHURS, J. STAFFORD
Neapolitan: PISKIN*, PEIFFER*
Princesses: KEENAN, MULLER, LeCRONE, SLOAN, BAR, RICARD
Vision: HANSON

SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 14 AT 8:00PM [Kaplow]
Swan Lake:
Odette/Odile: SYLVE*
Pr. Siegfried: ASKEGARD
Von Rothbart: EVANS
Queen: ABERGEL
Jester: ULBRICHT
Benno: SUOZZI*
Pas de Trois: LeCRONE, SLOAN
Pas de Quatre: RINGER, A. STAFFORD, HYLTIN, J. STAFFORD
Hungarian: RUTHERFORD, LIANG
Russian: BAR*, FOWLER*
Spanish: BESKOW, SETH, MULLER, RAMASAR
Neapolitan: EDGE, SEVERINI
Princesses: KEENAN, KROHN, LARACEY, BARAK, FLACK, ARTHURS
Vision: HANSON

SUNDAY MATINEE, JANUARY 15 AT 3:00PM [Quinn]
Swan Lake:
Odette/Odile: BOUDER
Pr. Siegfried: MILLEPIED
Von Rothbart: La FOSSE+
Queen: HANSON
Jester: HENDRICKSON
Benno: DANCHIG-WARING
Pas de Trois: DRONOVA, RIGGINS
Pas de Quatre: FAIRCHILD, SCHELLER, PECK, DE LUZ
Hungarian: BESKOW, T. ANGLE
Russian: REICHLEN, HANNA
Spanish: LOWERY, SETH, MULLER, J. STAFFORD
Neapolitan: PISKIN, PEIFFER
Princesses: KEENAN, KROHN, LARACEY, ABERGEL, BAR, ARTHURS
Vision: RIGGINS


JANUARY 3-8, 2006

TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 3 AT 7:30PM [Quinn]
Concerto Barocco: BORREE, RUTHERFORD, EVANS* [Delmoni, Nikkanen]
Intermission
Fearful Symmetries: A. STAFFORD, RAMASAR*,SOMOGYI, HANNA*, BOUDER, DE LUZ, ULBRICHT, LAURENT, PEIFFER
Intermission
Symphony in C:
1st Mov.: RINGER, MARTINS
2nd Mov.: WHELAN, NEAL
3rd Mov.: FAIRCHILD, MILLEPIED
4th Mov.: A. STAFFORD, FOWLER

WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 4 AT 7:30PM
Concerto Barocco: BORREE, RUTHERFORD, EVANS [Delmoni, Nikkanen]
Intermission
Liturgy: WHELAN, EVANS* [Nikkanen]
Pause
Monumentum pro Gesualdo: KISTLER, ASKEGARD
Pause
Movements for Piano and Orchestra: KISTLER, ASKEGARD [Moredock]
Intermission
Fearful Symmetries: A. STAFFORD, RAMASAR, SOMOGYI, HANNA, BOUDER, DE LUZ, ULBRICHT, LAURENT, PEIFFER

THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 5 AT 8:00PM [Kaplow]
Allegro Brillante: WEESE*, NEAL [Grant]
Intermission
Liturgy: WHELAN, EVANS [Nikkanen]
Pause
Monumentum pro Gesualdo: KISTLER, ASKEGARD
Pause
Movements for Piano and Orchestra: KISTLER, ASKEGARD [Moredock]
Intermission
Symphony in C:
1st Mov.: SOMOGYI, MARTINS
2nd Mov.: SYLVE*, ASKEGARD
3rd Mov.: FAIRCHILD, MILLEPIED
4th Mov.: A. STAFFORD, FOWLER

FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 6 AT 8:00PM [Metters+]
Swan Lake:
Odette/Odile: WHELAN
Pr. Siegfried: WOETZEL
Von Rothbart: La FOSSE+
Queen: ABERGEL
Jester: GOLD
Benno: HANNA
Pas de Trois: HYLTIN*, A. STAFFORD*
Pas de Quatre: BOUDER*, SCHELLER*, PECK*, MILLEPIED
Hungarian: RUTHERFORD, LIANG*
Russian: BORREE, EVANS
Spanish: BAR, HALL*, MEARNS*, J. STAFFORD
Neapolitan: EDGE, HENDRICKSON
Princesses: KEENAN, MULLER*, LARACEY*, BARAK, BESKOW, ARTHURS

SATURDAY MATINEE, JANUARY 7 AT 2:00PM [Metters+]
Swan Lake:
Odette/Odile: RINGER*
Pr. Siegfried: MARCOVICI*
Von Rothbart: EVANS
Queen: HANSON*
Jester: ULBRICHT
Benno: VEYETTE*
Pas de Trois: LeCRONE*, SLOAN*
Pas de Quatre: FAIRCHILD*, SCHELLER, PECK, DE LUZ*
Hungarian: LOWERY, FOWLER
Russian: KROHN*, RAMASAR*
Spanish: GOLBIN, SUOZZI*, ABERGEL, T. ANGLE*
Neapolitan: DRONOVA*, CRAMENA
Princesses: KEENAN, MULLER, LARACEY, BARAK, BESKOW, ARTHURS

SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 7 AT 8:00PM
Allegro Brillante: SYLVE*, NEAL [Grant]
Intermission
Liturgy: WHELAN, EVANS [Nikkanen]
Pause
Monumentum pro Gesualdo: KISTLER, ASKEGARD
Pause
Movements for Piano and Orchestra: KISTLER, ASKEGARD [Moredock]
Intermission
Fearful Symmetries: A. STAFFORD, RAMASAR, SOMOGYI, HANNA, BOUDER, DE LUZ, ULBRICHT, LAURENT, PEIFFER

SUNDAY MATINEE, JANUARY 8 AT 3:00PM [Metters+]
Swan Lake:
Odette/Odile: WEESE
Pr. Siegfried: ASKEGARD
Von Rothbart: SETH
Queen: ABERGEL
Jester: GOLD
Benno: HANNA
Pas de Trois: HYLTIN, A. STAFFORD
Pas de Quatre: BOUDER, SCHELLER, PECK, MILLEPIED
Hungarian: RUTHERFORD, LIANG
Russian: BORREE, EVANS
Spanish: BAR, HALL, MEARNS, J. STAFFORD
Neapolitan: EDGE, HENDRICKSON
Princesses: KEENAN, MULLER, LARACEY, BARAK, BESKOW, ARTHURS

Just returned from one of the most enjoyable evenings at New York State Theater I’ve had in a long time. Power players were in the house tonight: Bouder, Evans, Whelan, DeLuz, Somogyi, Sylve, Neal.

Allegro Brilliante with Sylve and Neal was superb. Sylve found plenty of time for phrasing and finishing, and even volunteered the four-revolution pirouettes that the music has always begged for. Neal, with his signature elegance, was a dream of a partner.

Liturgy, the Wheeldon PdD to Arvo Part’s Fratres for Violin, Strings and Percussion showcased Whelan and Evans as the stunning partnership we see all too infrequently these days. It’s one of my favorite Wheeldon pieces. It has a meaningful beginning, end and middle - all organized and connected with inventive segues and luscious musicality. Whelan looked particularly beautiful, healthy, and comfortable wearing the Wheeldon choreography. Tonight I found myself noticing her face for its serenity and not noticing the attenuated torso that is usually distracting. Evans and Whelan compliment each other in so many ways - physically, musically. The whole piece conveyed, as it was intended, a sense of spirituality.

Monumentum Pro Gesualdo and Movements for Piano and Orchestra were danced by Kistler and Askegard. I kept asking myself, if Balanchine were alive today, would he still put these trivial pieces on the stage - let alone together and performed by aging dancers of diminishing abilities? I answered myself: both dances and dancers should probably be archived.

Fearful Symmetries is one of Martins’ less bad pieces of choreography, happily updated with the formidable and fearless techniques of Bouder, DeLuz, and Somogyi. Abi Stafford shared principal duties as did Amar Ramasar and Stephen Hanna. The music is a John Adams score that begins with what could be described as a musical adaptation of Midtown Manhattan traffic. You could sense the direction and also the great impatience. It continued to gain momentum with Philip Glass-y elements and leveled out to a rather tiring pace. Bouder and DeLuz were a sensational match - competitive, seemingly challenging each other - and both were, for all intents and purposes, on another planet energywise. Somogyi looked gorgeous, now certainly the most refined and classical dancer in the company. I just wish they could find her a partner who is on her same level.

It was a good night.

Two reviews from the NY Times:



For more click here



For more, click here

Thanks for the comments Poohtunia!

It's at times like this when I really miss being in NY. It's interesting to hear about "Liturgy". Albert Evans first stepped into the Soto role for the performances in Tivoli - so he had a chance to work with it a bit before facing the NYC audiences. He did a stunning job, but having seen the world premiere of the piece in NY, it was very hard not to compare him to Jock Soto. And I think that sometimes its an advantage to come into a ballet without having seen it, so your mind is a fresh slate and you're not unconsciously or consciously comparing it to a previous performance.

And it's always interesting to hear the reactions every time Martins' "Swan Lake" comes back into repertory. I'm probably in the minority in that it's one of the productions I do like - along with the Royal Swedish Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet productions. There's lots of dancing, great use of children and I find the ending quite stunning.

However, I think it may be a case of a ballet that was perfect for the original company, but didn't travel very well.

The Per Kirkeby set and costume designs which are much maligned in NY, seem to have been received much better in Copenhagen. Kirkeby is a well-respected and admired artist in Denmark - and my understanding is that it was quite an honor for the company to have him do the set designs.
Also, it may be that the sets look much better on the smaller, narrower Royal Theatre stage than in the much larger NYS Theatre.

I hope that the Royal Danish Ballet will bring "Swan Lake" back into the active repertory in the near future, while the dancers who created the roles are still at their artistic peaks. If I remember correctly the original cast was Silja Schandorff as Odile/Odette, Kenneth Greve as Prince Siegfried, and perhaps Thomas Lund as the jester and Mads Blangstrup as Benno (It was during the curtain calls for a performance of "Swan Lake" that Thomas Lund and current Bolshoi Ballet AD Alexei Ratmansky were promoted to principal).

Kate