Sophoife

Set designers often omit the higher levels from their considerations. It's extremely irritating to hear people oohing and ashing about something and not be able to even glimpse it let alone experience it as the designer intended. I was sitting higher up at QPAC for those 2017 Winter's Tale shows, and had no trouble seeing the bear. OTOH sitting higher up at the State Theatre in Melbourne or (shudder) the Sydney Opera House, can't even see the "ceiling" style scenery let alone projections that supposedly enhance the sets! A production of Swan Lake with a projected Swan that people raved about comes to mind. Invisible Swan more like!

Links – Saturday 4 May, 2024 May the Fourth be with you all Reviews UK: Boy Blue, Cycles, Barbican, London: Franco Milazzo, Broadway World Tom Dale Company, SURGE / SUB:VERSION, Newcastle and touring to Leicester: Dora Frankel, British Theatre Guide USA: Ballet Arkansas, Bravo – world premiere (Tsai Hsi Hung) / world premiere (Kache) / world premiere (Fothergill) / Galanteries (Bintley), Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Little Rock AR: Eric E. Harrison, Arkansas Democrat Gazette (paywalled) Ballet Hispánico, House of Mad’moiselle (Ochoa) / 18 + 1 (Sansano) / Buscando a Juan (Vilaro), New York City Center, New York NY: Cecilia Whalen, Fjord Review Moveius Contemporary Ballet, Glacier: A Climate Change Ballet, National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC: Jessica Ackerman, The Eagle New York City Ballet, All Balanchine – Bourrée Fantasque / The Steadfast Tin Soldier / Errante / Symphony in C, New York City Center, New York NY: Kasey Broekema, The Ballet Herald New York City Ballet, Gala Programme – Rubies (Balanchine) / Dig the Say (J. Peck) / Underneath, There is Light (Garner), New York City Center, New York NY: Marina Harss, Dancing Around Alastair Macaulay, Financial Times (may be paywalled) Brian Seibert, The New York Times (paywalled) Australia: The Australian Ballet, Études (Lander) / Circle Electric (Lake), Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Sydney NSW: Deborah Jones, Limelight Previews UK: Ballet Black, Heroes – The Waiting Game (November) / If At First (Laplane), Barbican, London: Staff, ArtsHub Australia: The Australian Ballet, Études (Lander) / Circle Electric (Lake), Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Sydney NSW: Staff, Australian Arts Review Gitika Garg, Broadsheet North America: Ballet BC, For Ever – Untitled / SWAY / Chamber (all Walerski), Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver BC: Janet Smith, Stir Kansas City Ballet, Jewels (Balanchine), Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Kansas City MO: Patrick Neas, The Kansas City Star via AOL Oklahoma City Ballet, Shorts – Fancy Free (Robbins) / Carmina Burana (Jolicoeur-Nye), Cacti (Ekman), Civic Center Music Hall, Oklahoma City OK: Lillie-Beth Brinkman, The Journal-Record Smuin Contemporary Ballet, Dance Series 2 – Broken Open (Seiwert) / Untwine (Wall) / Tupelo Tornado (Ochoa) / Starshadows (Smuin), San Francisco and touring CA: James Ambroff-Tahan, Piedmont Exedra Tulsa Ballet, Signature Series – Roman Holiday (Cannito) / Dancing In The Streets (Bergasse) / Celestial Bodies (McNicol), Lorton Performance Center, Tulsa OK: James D. Watts Jr., Tulsa World (paywalled) News At Chanel Haute Couture, Ballet Was the Star: Joanna Fox, Elle Canada Ballet twins to retire after a decade and a half, Alberta Ballet: Teri Fikowski, CTV Calgary Budding ballet stars, Alina Cojocaru in Taipei: Staff, Taipei Times Chris Pine, Hollywood star and “ballet boy”: Declan Gallagher, Men’s Journal Julie Jordan, People Meg Walters, InStyle English Youth Ballet, Swan Lake, casting news: Kildwick: Daryl Ames, Craven Herald & Pioneer ‘It felt really scary’ – 14-year-old Nigerian ballet sensation on learning he’s largely blind in one eye: Stephen Nartey, Face2Face Africa ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’ Li Cunxin Returns to Houston, Reunites With Charles Foster and Ben Stevenson: Staff, Asia Society Texas Misty Copeland and Stevie Wonder receive the Peabody Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Music and Dance: Graham Spicer, Gramilano OU ballet senior finds confidence in brown pointe shoes, earns place in Dance Theatre of Harlem: Shelby Emery, OU Daily Queen Camilla is the new Patron of the Royal Academy of Dance: Staff, Ballet News Staff Writer, Theatre Weekly Staff, WestEndTheatre RAD Silver Swans new programme: Vera Liber, British Theatre Guide Photo Feature Alberta Ballet puts a wrap on a year of great change: Staff, Calgary Herald Video News/Features The Swans of Harlem by Karen Valby: Jessi Mitchell, CBS News New York Ballet Hartford welcomes new artistic director: Ann Nyberg, WTNH News8 via YouTube Charlotte Ballet: Dancers share their experiences: Jamie Boll, WBTV3 Shall We Dance in Russia? | Emily Abrom the first American Ballerina at the Novosibirsk theater: Voice of America via YouTube Interview Gion Treichler: Mastery in Motion: Jon Stojan, Cultr The Social Pages New York City Ballet 2024 Spring Gala (photos by Getty Images): Catherine Kallon, Red Carpet Fashion Awards Carly Johnson, Daily Mail OKC Ballet Supporters Fill Omni For Coastal Cruise Gala: Staff, OKC Friday (“the newspaper for Oklahoma’s trendsetters”)

So excited for everyone who's seeing all these luxury "new casts". I remember spending a wonderful long weekend in Brisbane in 2017, where I was privileged to luxuriate in casts involving Bennet Gartside and Marianela Nuñez (they did it with their eyes, twice in one day!) with Ryoichi Hirano/Laura Morera/Vadim Muntagirov/Beatriz Stix-Brunell in one show and IIRC Federico Bonelli/Itziar Mendizabal/James Hay/Francesca Hayward, Edward Watson and Lauren Cuthbertson with Bonelli/Zenaida Yanowsky/Steven McRae/Hayward/Valentino Zucchetti/Stix-Brunell, and Hirano and Claire Calvert as a rushed-together pairing after Thiago Soares was injured.

Thank you @li tai po those posts really shine a light on a wonderful person who loved something and did her utmost to share its appeal with as many as possible. Let her memory lighten grief.

Links – Friday 3 May, 2024 Reviews UK and Europe: Birmingham Royal Ballet, The Sleeping Beauty (Wright), Sadler’s Wells, London: Joy Sable, The Jewish Chronicle Boy Blue, Cycles (Sandy/Hackett/Asante), Barbican, London: Zoe Anderson, The Independent (paywalled) Debra Craine, The Times (paywalled) Teresa Guerreiro, CultureWhisper Michael Higgs, The Upcoming Louise Levene, Financial Times Maryam Philpott, The Reviews Hub Sanjoy Roy, The Guardian Marianka Swain, The Telegraph (paywalled) Estonian National Ballet, Carnival of the Animals (Kesler), Estonia Opera House, Tallinn: Stuart Sweeney, CriticalDance Northern Ballet, Romeo and Juliet (Gable/Moricone), Theatre Royal, Nottingham: Fionn Burrows, Newark Advertiser Elliot Jones, All Things Theatre Pett|Clausen-Knight, IMAGO, Lanterns Studio Theatre, London: Maggie Foyer, SeeingDance The Museum of Colour, A Very British Rhythm, digital exhibition: Flynn Hallman, The Reviews Hub USA: Sydney Dance Company, Impermanence (Bonachela), Kennedy Center, Washington DC: Justin Rustle, MD Theatre Guide ZooNation, Message in a Bottle (Prince), New York City Center, New York NY: Brian Seibert, The New York Times (paywalled) BodyVox/Imani Winds, Beautiful Everything, Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, Portland OR: Lindsay Dreyer, Oregon ArtsWatch All Arts 2024 Dance Film Festival, dance documentaries on Katy Pyle, Ayodele Casel, Raja Feather Kelly, streaming: Marina Harss, Dancing Around AU/NZ: Royal New Zealand Ballet, Swan Lake (Kerr), St James Theatre, Wellington and touring to Auckland, Napier, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill, New Zealand: Jennifer Shennan, …on dancing Greer Robertson, Theatre Review NZ Jack Yan, Lucire BlakDance reviewed by Dr Jonathan W. Marshall, Limelight Gary Lang NT Dance Company, The Other Side of Me (Lang), State Theatre Centre, Perth WA Karul Projects, Silence (Kelly), His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth, WA News Ballet dancer follows in sister’s footsteps and leaps into spot at Royal Ballet School, Charlie Waller of Edinburgh Dance Academy: Noticeboard, In Your Area UK English Youth Ballet, Swan Lake, casting news: Halifax: Ben Garner, Halifax Courier Ilkley: Claire Lomax, Ilkley Gazette Keighley: Alistair Shand, Keighley News Irish National Youth Ballet, Coppélia, casting news: Mullingar: Topic.ie Wicklow: Myles Buchanan, Irish Independent Dance is the condensation of national identity: dance representatives celebrated International Dance Day: photos by Hayk Manukyan, ArmenPress Mary Jennings new executive director of Grand Rapids Ballet: Lindsay Hoffman, FOX17 Garrett Neese, The Daily Mining Gazette Royal Academy of Dance expands its popular Silver Swans programme for older learners: Staff Writer, Theatre Weekly Ballet Quad Cities receives anonymous $100,000 private gift: Jorge Brizuela, WQAD8 Artists and scholars explore future of dance art in Shanghai: Xu Wei, Shanghai Daily News of Note: What You Might Have Missed in April 2024: Courtney Escoyne, Dance Magazine Spring in Their Step: Notable Dance (April/May 2024), Pacific Northwest region: Chase D. Anderson, NW Theatre Previews USA: Atlanta Ballet, Liquid Motion – Nighthawks (Schreier) / Yellow (Nuñes), Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Atlanta GA: Cynthia Perry, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Ballet Fantastique, Alice in Wonderland (Marisa/Bontrager), Natrona County High School, Casper WY: Rhonda Schulte, Oil City News Indianapolis Ballet, Romeo and Juliet (Webre), Clowes Memorial Hall, Indianapolis IN: Domenica Bongiovanni, IndyStar Orlando Ballet, Casanova (Tindall), Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando FL: Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel (may be paywalled) Praize Productions RIZE Dance Company, Black Love Reigns Supreme, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, Chicago IL: D’onminique Ndosi Mapula Riley, See Chicago Dance Rockbridge Ballet, Welcome to the Jungle, Gillis Theater, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington VA: Staff, The News-Gazette Smuin Contemporary Ballet, Tupelo Tornado (Ochoa) / Broken Open (Seiwert) / Untwine (Wall) / Starshadows (Smuin), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco and touring CA: Aimée Ts’ao, The Mercury News Tacoma City Ballet, Storybook Ballet Theatre, Theatre on the Square, Tacoma WA: Hailee Wickersham, South Sound Magazine Washington Ballet, Mixed programmes, FREE at CityCenterDC, Washington DC: Chloe Rabinowitz, Broadway World Elsewhere: Astana Ballet, Serenade (Balanchine) / Language of Love (Avakhri), Astana Ballet Theatre, Astana, Kazakhstan: Staff, DKN World News Ballet Manila, Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang, Aliw Theatre, Pasay City, Philippines: Angela Nicole Guiral, Tatler Asia Video Previews Connecticut Ballet, Alice in Wonderland (Raphael), The Bushnell, Hartford, and The Palace, Stamford CT: FOX61 New Orleans Ballet Theatre, DRACULA (Halkowich), Illustrious Orpheum Theatre, New Orleans LA: NOLA Now Texas Ballet Theater, Beauty and the Beast (Christensen), Winspear Opera House, Dallas/Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth TX: Jane McGarry, WFAA Photo Preview Indianapolis Ballet, Romeo and Juliet (Webre), Clowes Memorial Hall, Indianapolis IN: Joe Timmerman, IndyStar Interviews Elroy Fillis-Bell, CEO Joburg Ballet: Africa Center, Atlantic Council Paula Nuñez, Tampa City Ballet: Joshua Wright, Broadway World Daniel Riley, Australian Dance Theatre: Johnny von Einem, InDaily Mikaela Santos, Atlanta Ballet: Cynthia Bond Perry, Pointe Magazine James Whiteside, ABT principal and choreographer: Christina Pandolfi, Broadway World Features Black youths being pushed away from arts, says Britain’s first black ballerina, Julie Felix MBE, Dance Theatre of Harlem soloist, teacher: PA News Agency, Barry and District News Royal Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem look at Black Dancers in Ballet: Lydia Wharf, Gramilano Pancaking shoes: Ballet dancers search for dancewear to match their skin tone, For many dance studios, teachers have required dancers to only wear pink ballet tights regardless of their skin tone: Nathaly Suquinagua, Billy Penn at WHYY On Point: Martha Graham’s Perfect Partnership with Isamu Noguchi, The choreographer’s centenary season features a focus on her many collaborations with the iconic Japanese-American polymath: Marina Harss, Frieze New York A pioneering ballet dancer finds renewed purpose in life’s second act, George Lee, first NYCB Asian dancer: Lourdes Trimidal for Desert Companion, KNPR Radio New VR Technique Enhances Dance Learning: Amanda Alvarez/Aalto University, Neuroscience News Kim Jones Designs Costume for ‘The Afternoon of a Faun’ at Charleston Festival, the Royal Ballet principal dancer Reece Clarke will wear the outfit for a nine-minute solo dance performance on May 21 (with photos by Andrej Uspenski): Tianwei Zhang, Women’s Wear Daily Baku Choreographic Academy holds huge celebration of dance art: Laman Ismayilova, Azernews Hop it, Shakespeare – 8 adaptations that beat the Bard’s original, as three new adaptations open in the West End, we count down the greatest takes on his work: Marianka Swain, The Telegraph (paywalled) Video Features Teaching from a war zone at The Russian Ballet Academy, Konstantin Zubach: WMUR-TV via YouTube Nine-year-old ballet prodigy sets his sights on the Big Apple: Today Show Australia via YouTube Kenny’s on his toes learning about City Ballet of Cleveland: Kenny Crumpton, FOX 8 News Cleveland via YouTube Minnesotan Michael Cain partners with Boston Ballet: CBS News Minnesota Book Review The Swans of Harlem, Karen Valby: Terri Schlichenmeyer, North Dallas Gazette Music Review Dance!, Daniel Hope (violin), Zürcher Kammerorchester: Michael Quinn, Limelight Essay? Review? The Dante Project at the Paris Opera Ballet: Moving across Media: Tatiana Senkevitch, The Massachusetts Review The Social Pages New York City Ballet Spring Gala: Andy Kropa, Clinton Herald, Goshen News Carly Johnson, The Daily Mail Houston Ballet fundraiser: Joel Luke, CultureMap Houston In Case We/You Missed It Reviews UK: Ballet Black, If At First (Laplane) / The Waiting Game (November), Oxford Playhouse, Oxford: Ella Thornburn, A Young(ish) Perspective Birmingham Royal Ballet, The Sleeping Beauty (Wright), Sadler’s Wells, London: Tabitha James, A Young(ish) Perspective USA: dani tirrell, Leviticus or Love and to walk amongst HUMANS (Book I), Moore Theatre, Seattle WA: Chase D. Anderson, NW Theatre Pacific Northwest Ballet, The Seasons’ Canon (Pite), McCaw Hall, Seattle WA: Chase D. Anderson, NW Theatre Noche Flamenca, Searching for Goya, Joyce Theater, New York NY: Robert Greskovic, The Wall Street Journal (paywalled) Adelaide Festival: Akram Khan Company, Jungle Book Reimagined: Katherine Tamiko Arguile, In Review Australian Dance Theatre, Marrow: Megan Koch, In Review Stephen Page, Baleen Moondjan: Katherine Tamiko Arguile, In Review Restless Dance Theatre, Private View: David Washington, In Review

Yes, I would love to hear from anyone who saw Jess Fyfe in this please.

Links – Thursday 2 May, 2024 Reviews United Kingdom: Rupert Christiansen, The Spectator Hofesh Schechter, From England with Love, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London Black Dancers in Ballet, Clore Studio, Royal Opera House, London (Insights on YouTube) Andrée Bernard, What (is) a Woman, Arcola Theatre, London: Matthew Paluch, Gramilano ROOTS, (Overseas) / Is Any Body Home? (Lam), Streatham Space Project, London: Richard Maguire, The Reviews Hub Europe: Staatsballett Berlin, Overture (Morau) / Angels’ Atlas (Pite), Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin Germany: Katja Vaghi, Bachtrack Badisches Staatsballet, Strings/Jumps (Grosse Fugue (van Manen), Requiem for a Rose (Lopez Ochoa), Water Me (November), Staatstheater, Karlsruhe Germany: Maggie Foyer, SeeingDance United States of America: Dance Theatre of Harlem, Return (Garland) / Take Me With You (Bondara) / Pas de Dix (Balanchine) / Blake Works IV (Forsythe) New York City Center, New York NY: Susan Yung, The Brooklyn Rail Youth America Grand Prix, 25th Anniversary Gala Performance, New York City Center, New York NY: Josephine Minhinnett, Fjord Review (paywalled) Jerry Hochman, CriticalDance Australia/New Zealand: Canberra Theatre Centre New Works/Australian Dance Party, Co_Lab:24 (Plevey/Black/Lane/Voorhoeve/Ahmad/Haynes), Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra ACT: Michelle Potter, …on dancing Bill Stephens, Australian Arts Review Royal New Zealand Ballet, Swan Lake (Kerr), St James Theatre, Wellington, and touring: Lyne Pringle, The Post Asia: University of Taipei, BodyWave including Shattered Moon (Shimazaki), Metropolitan Hall, Taipei: David Mead, SeeingDance Previews North America: ZooNation, Message in a Bottle, New York City Center, New York NY: Javier C Hernández, The New York Times (paywalled) Northwest Ballet Company, Alice in Wonderland (Roth), Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts, Bigfork MT: Staff, Daily Inter Lake Ballet Arizona, All Balanchine (La Valse / Prodigal Son / Square Dance), Symphony Hall, Phoenix AZ: Ivana Morales, Patch.com Staff, Fabulous Arizona Ballet Kelowna, Macbeth (Pires), Kelowna Community Theatre, Kelowna BC: Staff, Castanet.net Sydney Morton, Global News Canada Australia: DUTI Dance Company, None Of Us (Mizyed), Lennox Theatre, Sydney NSW: Staff, Dance Australia Elsewhere: Moscow Ballet La Classique, Swan Lake, Red Theatre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Anjali Sunsoa, Harper’s Bazaar Video Preview United States of America: Oakland Ballet, Lustig Live, Laney College, Oakland CA: Staff, ABC7 News Bay Area via YouTube News Injury costs San Francisco Ballet its high-profile ‘Swan Lake’ guest star: Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle Es Devlin: Social media helps dancers reach all areas of the globe: Katie Chambers, The Stage Royal Opera House name change: Norman Lebrecht, SlippedDisc Staff, The Violin Channel English Youth Ballet, Swan Lake, casting news: Bradford: Felicity Macnamara, Telegraph & Argus Blackburn: Peter Magill, Lancashire Telegraph Ilkley: Staff, Rombalds Radio City Center Ballet celebrates 25 years: Alex Hanson, Valley News Canterbury ballet dancer ‘over the moon’ after big win on world stage: Sasha Watson, Star News New Zealand Features ‘I don’t know if my body can do this’: does A Chorus Line still ring true for dancers?: Lyndsey Winship, The Guardian Dance Makers Collective Forges Ahead: Staff, Dance Australia Stephanie Lake’s electric circle with Australian Ballet: Liz Hobday, Newcastle Herald Video Feature ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’ follows life of Houston Ballet’s first Asian dancer, Li Cunxin: Shern-Min Chow, KHOU-11

@Sabine0308 I am hearing you!! I only wish we had that sort of thing here with AusBallet. As I've said before, being told the principal casting six or more months in advance is an unimaginable luxury for us. We don't have a Friends scheme, but the Patrons are a clear philanthropic group, and even they are expected to book each year's subscription seats blind. As @Bluebird can attest, booking seats for December the following year in November is definitely a lucky dip!

To which I replied I now realise that I should have said..."gloriously 1920s"!

To my knowledge there are only three legal-ish recordings of Onegin Stuttgart Ballet from 2018 with Friedemann Vogel/Alicia Amatriain/David Moore/Elisa Badenes (the official one) National Ballet of Canada from the mid-1980s with Frank Augustyn and Sabina Allemann (from TV) - IIRC Reid Anderson, who staged it, was AD-designate of NBoC at the time Stuttgart Ballet from 1976 with Heinz Claus/Marcia Haydée/Egon Madsen/Joyce Cuoco (from TV)

I thought the same last year, as I am a dyed-in-the-wool disliker of most Balanchine, then I saw it for the first time in Denver. I was so interested! As it was an early Balanchine, he hadn't forgotten how to tell a story, the costumes and sets were gloriously Twenties, and the music I got to liking after listening multiple times pre-attending. On AusBallet's Book of Faces earlier this year there was a whole thread of people complaining that Alice wore purple and was dark-haired 🤣 Disney effect indeed!

Exactly what @Bruce Wall said. Thank you @Irmgard and may her memory lighten grief.

Me too!! It's worth a trip over, given the possible castings IMHO...but Cinderella AGAIN??

...depends on which VPN you use, I believe. One I use for almost everything, the Beeb detects instantly and I barely get a glimpse of John Torode's increasingly creased face.

@Fonty and others, download the RAI app to your tellyvee, install and run a VPN, fire up RAI, and Roberto Bolle and friends will magically appear 🤭 For detailed instructions please DM.