fromthebalcony

Yes, very bad camera work. Very impressed with Daniel McCormack, but I didn't like his contemporary piece by Trey McIntrye. I like a lot of Trey's work, but not that one.

I would actually like to see more companies do something like this. It gives younger dancers a chance to work intensively, and could potentially give older dancers a chance to coach or choreograph.

I was always under the impression that it was the jury themselves who nominated the dancers. Videos are sent of each of the performances for which the dancer (and each choreographer) is nominated, and the jury votes ahead of time. The gala is just a show and award ceremony. What I do not know is if the jury is permitted to vote for their own dancer. I was not familiar with Lantratov. It turns out he is Alexandrova's significant other. http://www.vaganovatoday.com/vladislav-lantratov-and-maria-alexandrova-bolshoi-power-couple

Agreed! Once again, agreed.

I really loved the ballet and both casts!

No, obviously not. My point was that I do empathize with him. Again, dancers give up much of their lives to dance for a living, and it is sad they cannot afford to live where they work. There have been plenty of threads here on dancers' salaries. For some, it is difficult to even make ends meet. I do not agree with much that Polunin has to say, but I understand this lament.

The one thing I will say in his defense (and I have not defended him in the past) in terms of dancers and their inability to afford a flat. The difference: Dancers normally train from the time they are very young. For the most part, they give up their normal pre-teen and teenage years to study ballet. Some train far from their homes. Summers, at least in the U.S., are spent training at summer intensives 6-8 hours a day (or more). Many do not attend normal functions in which teenagers take part. Nurses and teachers, etc. don't start training until they go to university. Parents of dancers invest as much or more than a university education in order for their child to dance professionally (at least in the U.S. and especially for women.) Additionally, the dancer's career ends much sooner than that of a nurse or a teacher - 20-25 years earlier. Dancers must then go on to another career, whether that entails going back to school (or taking university classes while dancing), or entering the realm of teaching, coaching, or arts management. So, I do understand the frustration he expresses.

Thank you for sharing.

ENB's website has a small video highlighting each of the female emerging dancer finalists. Their Facebook page added one about the young men, but it is not yet on their website: https://www.ballet.org.uk/production/emerging-dancer-2018/#production-explore-section

I am not as familiar with everyone's favorites here, but I would say there are "sacred cows" on the ballet boards in the U.S. I know many people hesitate to post their opinions because of this issue.

Does he mean permanently? His video message states, "but today I am joining the English National Ballet, as a First Artist, in their production of Sleeping Beauty."

Actually, he is dancing with Isabella Boylston. I saw someone mention on Ballet Alert that Tiler was subbing for Bella, but from all indications on Bella's instagram, that is not true. She and Kim rehearsed today. As far as the visas go, Kim may have gotten his visa earlier because it was announced quite awhile ago that he would be guesting at ABT during the Met. He is probably going to rehearse for that while he is here.

My guess would be that when they announced Simkin, he had obviously already told ABT/Kevin his plans. If Masha is going to Berlin, but was not ready to tell SFB/Helgi that she was leaving. When leaving a company, many dancers wait until contracts are released and then tell their director they will not be signing their contract/returning the following season. I know that promotion announcements were just made at SFB and contracts were recently released. Usually, they give dancers a few weeks to return them. So, perhaps Masha just waited until contracts were due to make her departure known.

She is not slated to dance at ABT for the Met season. I would imagine if she would be staying with ABT, she would at least be doing several shows. Speculation on the ballet boards over here is that she will go with Daniil Simkin to Berlin.

Boston Ballet did Obsidian Tear in the fall of 2017. They will be taking it to NYC this spring, from what I understand. On my first viewing, I was not sure I liked it, which was surprising because I enjoy McGregor's work. I had to see it several times before I really appreciated it.

Nice interview with Bill Forsythe: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/apr/11/choreographer-william-forsythe-enb-ballet-voices-of-america

By "wrecked," do you mean a recurring injury in her foot? I remember she was injured for awhile: https://www.gramilano.com/2015/10/good-news-osipovas-back/

Boston Ballet uses the traveling fouettés in their version of the Nutcracker. Do you think they would have the same effect if done in Swan Lake?

I have been following the story about Misty Copeland. As for Misty, she has always had trouble with the fouettés, and I do wish that McKenzie would have her do something else in their place. I would much prefer to see her (and others) perform 16 well-executed single fouettés followed by strong pique turns.

This is very distressing news for those of us over here in the states. Prayers for a very speedy recovery.

This is exciting news for us in the US! https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/arts/akram-khan-giselle-english-national-ballet-chicago.html

Having been in and around a number of ballet schools and companies here in the U.S., "living in constant expectation of being next in line" is a way of life. I was recently counseling a mom of a 15 year old male dance student at a very prestigious school here in the states. She was concerned because he was injured, but the men's teacher and the choreographer were insisting he rehearse and perform a number of pas de deux. Both told the student that if he took himself out as professional dancer, he would be fired. Now, we know this is not true, but the intimidation was ever present in their conversations. This young man was fearful he would lose his place at the school, and wanted to dance, although his doctor had recommended otherwise. Luckily, the mother stepped in and took him out to avoid permanent damage. But, he has been somewhat ostracized by the men's teacher/coach in the school. Countless stories of intimidation exist in the ballet school/company world. I have had students of numerous prestigious schools both here and abroad tell me horror stories of threats about weight gain and girls resorting to eating next to nothing. And, yet, this type of intimidation is not just part of the ballet world. It exists everywhere in many industries and walks of life. My concern here is severalfold. What is the outcome the "whistleblowers" desire? That has not been clear. It is my understanding the Council did a review and found everything to be satisfactory. Then another article surfaces. Will the only resolution satisfactory be that Rojo steps down? Will the ex-dancers (and the alleged others) be happy if the company loses its funding? What is it they want to see happen? Or do they just want to continue grinding an axe? Continued articles will not help this matter. Additionally, I find it extremely disturbing to have Loipa Araujo included in the most recent article. This woman is a jewel in the ballet world both as a dancer and a teacher. The dancers at ENB are extremely blessed to have her, as she could be teaching and coaching anywhere in the world. For some, she has been like a mother.

What makes us think the dancers were not apprised of what has been taking place or that they have had not input? We cannot make that assumption.

This was also a huge loss to skating. I loved this couple together - and their love story!

I believe that Helgi Tomasson, although maybe not the same "star" calibre of Nureyev, was a successful dancer and current director. The same goes for Peter Boal. Although Peter Martins has had his problems, which we have discussed, he was both a star dancer and a successful director in terms of running the company. Lourdes Lopez and Angel Corella have yet to be judged in totality.