Sophoife Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 (edited) It was in Melbourne, Australia, about 40 years ago @Sim🤭 Edited February 10 by Sophoife 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 14 minutes ago, Sophoife said: It was in Melbourne, Australia, about 40 years ago @Sim🤭 👸🏻I am duly impressed!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 3 minutes ago, Sim said: 👸🏻I am duly impressed!! 🤣 In my case it was two years after I left school, as the rule was a girl had to be 18. Also we didn't get to choose our partners, they were from the police academy (!). I got lucky with a partner who didn't have two left feet and whose hands were not clammy. We're still friends. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 (edited) I was pleasantly surprised that the TV hosts (for the TV audience) mentioned the names and ranks of the dancers of Wiener Staatsballett, more than once during the entire performance. Usually, it's just a "and now we see dancers of the Staatsballett". Edited February 10 by Sabine0308 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tattin Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Thank you, Angela, for the link to the Vienna Opera Ball; it works perfectly in Spain. What a joy to see brightly - coloured costumes and dancers clearly lit! I have got so fed up with straining my eyes trying to see poorly lit dancers in black costumes in recent years. I have watched Ratmansky's choreography three times - fairly "traditional" for him but everything he does is never less than interesting, and I, personally, always love it. However, "traditional " as it was it was nevertheless about the most modern part of an event that was so formal that it seemed old-fashioned. I was amazed at the extent to which the debutantes were also choreographed and made to stand as still as a corps de ballet during the dancing and singing etc.. I wonder how many hours rehearsal it took! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Just watched some of this ball - am fascinated that what appears to be an Opera House can be transformed into a ballroom with stunning floor where one would exist to find ‘stalls’ seating…. Is this the usual layout or are removable seats added for traditional performances? I so would love to witness something like this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 (edited) 1 hour ago, Peanut68 said: Just watched some of this ball - am fascinated that what appears to be an Opera House can be transformed into a ballroom with stunning floor where one would exist to find ‘stalls’ seating…. Is this the usual layout or are removable seats added for traditional performances? I so would love to witness something like this! It takes 30 hours to convert from the opera house to a ballroom, with 500 working on it. Then 21 hours to go back to opera house. Information source. Edited February 11 by Sophoife 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 8 hours ago, Sabine0308 said: I was pleasantly surprised that the TV hosts (for the TV audience) mentioned the names and ranks of the dancers of Wiener Staatsballett, more than once during the entire performance. Usually, it's just a "and now we see dancers of the Staatsballett". that is really respect and recognize them ,is not common that tv hosts takes a time for mention names and rank of them . is a nice surprise 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted February 29 Author Share Posted February 29 The casting for Vienna State Ballet's Lady of the Camellias is now online: 24.3. (premiere), 26.3. Ketevan Papava (Marguerite Gautier), Timoor Afshar (Armand Duval), Hyo-Jang Kang (Manon Lescaut), Marcos Menha (Des Grieux), Ioanna Avraam (Prudence Duvernoy), Masayu Kimoto (Gaston Rieux) 5.4. Olga Esina (Marguerite Gautier), Brendan Saye (Armand Duval), Liudmila Konovalova (Manon Lescaut), Alexey Popov (Des Grieux), Alaia Rogers-Maman (Prudence Duvernoy), Arne Vandervelde (Gaston Rieux) 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Ah the beautiful drama that is Neumeier’s version of Die Kameliendame. There are more performances in April, and continuing to 4 May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted March 1 Author Share Posted March 1 The casts for Giselle at Staatsballett Berlin: In five performances in March, new ensemble members will be performing in leading roles for the first time. Kalle Wigle will make his debut as Albrecht alongside Iana Salenko as Giselle and Elisa Cabrera/Vera Segova as Myrtha (March 8th and 17th). Haruka Sassa will embody Giselle for the first time alongside David Soares as Albrecht and Vera Segova/Bruna Cantanhede as Myrtha (March 16th and 22nd). And Polina Semionova will interpret Giselle with Martin ten Kortenaar as the new Albrecht and Eloïse Sacilotto as Myrtha (March 23rd). 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted March 6 Author Share Posted March 6 Berlin, March 6, 2024 --- Iana Salenko, Principal Dancer of the Staatsballett Berlin, will receive the honorary title «Berlin Chamber Dancer" on March 17, 2024. Joe Chialo, Senator for Culture and Social Cohesion, will present the award after the performance of Giselle at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Following her performance as Giselle in the production of the same name, Iana Salenko, Principal Dancer of the Staatsballett Berlin, will be honored with the honorary title «Berlin Chamber Dancer" on March 17, 2024. Senator for Culture and Social Cohesion Joe Chialo will present the award, recognizing her exceptional artistic achievements. «On behalf of the Berlin Senate, as well as personally, I would like to thank Iana Salenko for the many wonderful and magnificent ballet evenings she has provided for her audience. I thank her for her connection to our city and her commitment on so many levels. Since the beginning of the Russian attack on her homeland, Ukraine, Iana Salenko, who was born in Berlin's partner city of Kyiv, has been extraordinarily dedicated to the needs of war victims and artists in Ukraine. With her ballet gala 'Ballet for Live', she supports needy children in Ukraine. My gratitude is combined with recognition and respect for the achievements of this exceptional artist.» Iana Salenko herself is delighted with the recognition, which she now shares with her husband Marian Walter, who has also received this award. «I feel very honored to receive this German honorary title. And I am proud that my husband Marian and I are currently the only chamber dancer couple. The award inspires me to reach new heights in my career. I am looking forward to more exciting dance moments.» The exceptional artist impresses with outstanding technique at the highest international level, complemented by a great joy of playing. Throughout her career, she embodied leading roles in the most important classical productions such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, La Bayadère, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Onegin, Giselle, La Esmeralda, La Péri and Cinderella. She dances choreographies by renowned choreographers such as Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Auguste Bournonville, John Cranko, Pierre Lacotte, Marius Petipa and Anton Dolin. In personal collaborations, she was able to bring her interpretation to works by Patrice Bart, Yuri Burlaka/Vasily Medvedev, Nacho Duato, Boris Eifman, Marcia Haydée, Giorgio Madia, Vladimir Malakhov, Alexei Ratmansky, Peter Schaufuss, Heinz Spoerli, Christian Spuck and Víctor Ullate. Iana Salenko completed her ballet training at the Pisarev Ballet School in Donetsk, where she also received her first engagement. In 2002, she became a First Soloist at the Ukrainian National Opera in Kiev. After meeting her husband Marian Walter, she joined the State Ballet Berlin as a Demi-Soloist, where she was promoted to Soloist in 2006 and First Soloist in 2007. Since then, she has danced leading roles especially in classical productions and received invitations for guest appearances in over 20 companies worldwide. From 2013 to 2017, she was a Principal Guest at the Royal Ballet in London. Since 2022, she has been committed to her home country, Ukraine, by founding the annual charity gala Ballet for Life by Iana Salenko. The title «Berliner Kammertänzer*in» has been awarded only to Oliver Matz (1995), Raffaela Renzi (1995), Gregor Seyffert (1999), Vladimir Malakhov (2014), Michael Banzhaf (2017), Polina Semionova (2017) and Marian Walter (2018). The rare honorary title is awarded by the Berlin Senate for outstanding artistic achievements and a minimum of five years of uninterrupted affiliation with a theater. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted March 6 Author Share Posted March 6 The premiere of John Neumeier's "Lady of the Camellias" will be live streamed from Vienna on March 24th at 18.30 CET https://play.wiener-staatsoper.at/event/4dfb69e2-63b2-4be0-9ded-6af3a9a56fa1 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 @Angela, when might we expect the season announcements to start coming in? I know some announce quite late but I think I'm used to seeing others come through in February and March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 1 hour ago, Angela said: Berlin, March 6, 2024 --- Iana Salenko, Principal Dancer of the Staatsballett Berlin, will receive the honorary title «Berlin Chamber Dancer" on March 17, 2024. Joe Chialo, Senator for Culture and Social Cohesion, will present the award after the performance of Giselle at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Following her performance as Giselle in the production of the same name, Iana Salenko, Principal Dancer of the Staatsballett Berlin, will be honored with the honorary title «Berlin Chamber Dancer" on March 17, 2024. Senator for Culture and Social Cohesion Joe Chialo will present the award, recognizing her exceptional artistic achievements. «On behalf of the Berlin Senate, as well as personally, I would like to thank Iana Salenko for the many wonderful and magnificent ballet evenings she has provided for her audience. I thank her for her connection to our city and her commitment on so many levels. Since the beginning of the Russian attack on her homeland, Ukraine, Iana Salenko, who was born in Berlin's partner city of Kyiv, has been extraordinarily dedicated to the needs of war victims and artists in Ukraine. With her ballet gala 'Ballet for Live', she supports needy children in Ukraine. My gratitude is combined with recognition and respect for the achievements of this exceptional artist.» Iana Salenko herself is delighted with the recognition, which she now shares with her husband Marian Walter, who has also received this award. «I feel very honored to receive this German honorary title. And I am proud that my husband Marian and I are currently the only chamber dancer couple. The award inspires me to reach new heights in my career. I am looking forward to more exciting dance moments.» The exceptional artist impresses with outstanding technique at the highest international level, .... So very well deserved and it's about time!! I'm very happy for her.❤️❤️ The sweetest Sleeping Beauty and a wonderful and strong Odette/Odile, as well as a moving Giselle. I wish many more years onstage!❤️❤️❤️ 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 1 minute ago, Sabine0308 said: So very well deserved and it's about time!! I'm very happy for her.❤️❤️ The sweetest Sleeping Beauty and a wonderful and strong Odette/Odile, as well as a moving Giselle. I wish many more years onstage!❤️❤️❤️ Heartiest congratulations to Iana Salenko! You know, @Sabine0308, after reading your post, I just realised that she has also danced Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), Giselle and Odette/Odile in London- the first 2 ballets with the Royal Ballet and O/O with both RB and English National Ballet! The only role I didn't see her in was Odette-Odile with the Royal Ballet although I saw her ENB performance. She was outstanding in all 3 ballets - and also as Kitri in Don Quixote, Sugar Plum Fairy in Nutcracker etc. Very pleased for her. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 Thanks @Emeralds, I still need to see her finishing Swanlake afsin...I was so sick with the flu last time I went and had to miss the final 15 minutes because I left my seat (bad coughing🙈). But I feared it would be her last performance of O/O, so I went. I'm not sure if Swanlake will come back to the Berlin stage. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 Wonderful news! Congratulations to Iana, she is a super dancer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 2 hours ago, Sabine0308 said: Thanks @Emeralds, I still need to see her finishing Swanlake afsin...I was so sick with the flu last time I went and had to miss the final 15 minutes because I left my seat (bad coughing🙈). But I feared it would be her last performance of O/O, so I went. I'm not sure if Swanlake will come back to the Berlin stage. I'm sure she will be dancing Odette-Odile for quite a lot more years, and hopefully Staatsballett Berlin will stage it soon- it's the best income earner after Nutcracker and such a popular classic. So sorry to hear you were ill with flu last time! Hope you will be completely well when you attend her next Swan Lake performance! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted March 7 Author Share Posted March 7 8 hours ago, Lizbie1 said: when might we expect the season announcements to start coming in? I know some announce quite late but I think I'm used to seeing others come through in February and March. Munich March 16th Hamburg March 18th Berlin March 27th Stuttgart - somewhere near the summer holidays 🙄 I'll try to post everything as soon as I know! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 And here we go, the first season announcement for 2024/2025 - the winner is Ballet Leipzig which has a new director, Rémy Fichet. Leipzig Ballet explores new choreographic languages New Ballet Director, Rémy Fichet, has curated a highly emotional programme for his inaugural season. The focus is on new story ballets and the creative further development of classical technique. On 26.10.24, the American choreographic talent Lauren Lovette opens with a new take on the famous love drama »Romeo und Julia«, which she transposes into the world of theatre. A two-part ballet evening by Sofia Nappi and Louis Stiens celebrates its premiere on 1.2.25: »Humans«, to music by Clara Schumann, Henry Purcell, Franz Schubert, Werner Egk and others. The third premiere takes place on 12.4.25: Martin Chaix, whose previous solo career also brought him to Leipzig in 2006 for a three-year stay, is choreographing one of the oldest Japanese legends, »Die Mondprinzessin« (The Moon Princess), to the music of Henryk Mikołaj Gorecki, Koyama Kiyoshige, Sōmei Satō and Arvo Pärt. In collaboration with the Bachfest Leipzig, the »Black Box« will become a choreographic case study of various forms of artistic expression, and for the first time on 20.6.25, will see Marcelino Libao, Daniel Róces Gómez and Vincenzo Timpa of the Leipzig Ballet engage with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The 24/25 season will feature the return of two choreographies as a special tribute to the legendary choreographer Uwe Scholz to mark the 20th anniversary of his death. Until his passing in 1991, Uwe Scholz played a key role in shaping the identity and programme of the Leipzig Ballet. »Scholz-Symphonien« (Scholz Symphonies), premiering on 6.12.24, includes his symphonic ballets »Siebente Symphonie« (Seventh Symphony), music by Ludwig van Beethoven, and »Zweite Symphonie« (Second Symphony), music by Robert Schumann. The Gewandhausorchester, which plays for all Oper Leipzig performances, also provides live accompaniment for the performances of the Leipzig Ballet. The ballet season gets underway on the 31.8.24 with an open training session, followed by a talk with Rémy Fichet. Full brochure available at https://www.oper-leipzig.de/de/publikationen 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 On 07/03/2024 at 07:01, Sabine0308 said: Thanks @Emeralds, I still need to see her finishing Swanlake afsin...I was so sick with the flu last time I went and had to miss the final 15 minutes because I left my seat (bad coughing🙈). But I feared it would be her last performance of O/O, so I went. I'm not sure if Swanlake will come back to the Berlin stage. I'm so lucky, she danced Odette-Odile in the 2017 Berlin performance I saw, and was kind enough to sign my programme at the stage door! I had to quickly stow my delicious pretzel in my handbag when I saw her coming out. She is TINY. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tattin Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 1. Huge congratulations to Iana Salenko. I loved her Aurora which I saw in Madrid some years ago when Nacho Duato was directing the Staatsballett Berlin (it was his production of "Sleeping Beauty".) 2. Many thanks, Angela for the info about the DVD. I am not a great fan of Neumeier 's choreography though I like his "Lady of the Camelias". I was, however, absolutely shocked by his "Midsummer Night's Dream", which I saw on stage at the Granada Festival of Music and Dance last summer. It was incomprehensible even to those of us who are very familiar with the complex narrative. There were too many dancers on stage, also at times obscured by the admittedly extremely beautiful, moveable trees. I felt sorry for the dancers and longed for "The Dream"! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 I like how Dresden announced debuts on their social media. Tonight Milda Luckute debuts as Lilac Fairy amongst others https://www.instagram.com/p/C4VGIPUoCnu/?igsh=MXNyM3Bnb2I4NWFlNA== 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 On 09/03/2024 at 17:32, Tattin said: I was, however, absolutely shocked by his "Midsummer Night's Dream", which I saw on stage at the Granada Festival of Music and Dance last summer. It was incomprehensible even to those of us who are very familiar with the complex narrative. There were too many dancers on stage, also at times obscured by the admittedly extremely beautiful, moveable trees. I felt sorry for the dancers and longed for "The Dream"! To be honest, Tattin, I find Neumeier's version very clear and rather easy to understand - I mean, Shakespeare's comedy is as complicated as it gets, but in Neumeier's version you get introduced to all the characters, you have a very clear musical distinction between the court (Mendelssohn-Bartholdy), the fairies (Györgi Ligeti) and the amateur players who make their music on a barrel organ by themselves. The costumes for the court are historical, the costumes for the fairies are very modern - you always know in which world we are. Neumeier's trick is to combine Theseus/Oberon and Hippolyta/Titania in one dancer respectively one ballerina. That was not his idea, but the famous British director Peter Brook invented this in 1970 for his staging at the Royal Shakespeare Company. I don't think you have to feel sorry for the dancers, except maybe for the extra-difficult lifts for Oberon and Titania. I guess it's the same problem that an American audience has with Neumeier's works - I read reviews about his Lady of the Camellias where the critic just did not get the story. If you're used to the old classics like Sleeping Beauty and to abstract, neoclassical works, it may be a little bit difficult to understand drama ballet or "literature ballet", as Cranko, MacMillan or Neumeier are called in Germany. With Neumeier, you have to watch very closely, but then everything is clear and you can understand it all. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 @Angela agree. Neumeier’s ballet of Midsummer Night’s Dream follows the play almost word for word, and the costume/set design and music choices make each world very different. In many play versions that I’ve seen (in fact nearly all) the roles of Theseus/Oberon and Hippolyta/Titania are doubled up as Neumeier has done, which offers the view that the fairy world is all Hippolyta’s dream. She is a reluctant bride to be (as Queen of the Amazons she is part of the peace treaty between the Amazons and Athens. Theseus, is Duke of Athens). In her dream as Titania …. Oberon finally becomes appealing to her … after the Puck and Bottom shenanigans are llresolved … and she awakes to welcome their wedding day. It is also the wedding day of the 4 lovers, with entertainment by the mechanicals. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 (edited) On 06/03/2024 at 17:25, Lizbie1 said: when might we expect the season announcements to start coming in? The Bavarian State Opera will livestream their season presentation 2024–25 of the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Bayerisches Staatsballett and the Bayerisches Staatsorchester on Saturday, 16 March 2024, 10 a.m. CET Go to https://www.staatsoper.de/tv/ to see Laurent Hilaire present the next season Edited March 11 by Angela time zone 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 1 hour ago, Angela said: The Bavarian State Opera will livestream their season presentation 2024–25 of the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Bayerisches Staatsballett and the Bayerisches Staatsorchester on Saturday, 16 March 2024, 10 a.m. CET Go to https://www.staatsoper.de/tv/ to see Laurent Hilaire present the next season And my guess is he will get about 5 minutes to do so AFTER all the Opera and concert stuff have been presented at length.🙄 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneL Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 On 10/03/2024 at 19:06, FionaM said: I like how Dresden announced debuts on their social media. Tonight Milda Luckute debuts as Lilac Fairy amongst others https://www.instagram.com/p/C4VGIPUoCnu/?igsh=MXNyM3Bnb2I4NWFlNA== Thank you, @FionaM for posting this! I am going to see it on Thursday. can’t wait! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 19 minutes ago, AnneL said: Thank you, @FionaM for posting this! I am going to see it on Thursday. can’t wait! Please tell us about it afterwards! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 5 hours ago, Sabine0308 said: And my guess is he will get about 5 minutes to do so AFTER all the Opera and concert stuff have been presented at length.🙄 Well, all these opera directors, music directors and playhouse directors still think that Germany is a land of opera, classical music and spoken word. WE KNOW DIFFERENT 💪 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneL Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 11 hours ago, Jan McNulty said: Please tell us about it afterwards! Will do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Thanks Fiona M for the info re Milda Luckute. How lovely to see she is dancing Lilac Fairy already in her career probably not a chance she would have had so soon at RB. I saw her both in class as student and in RBS Linbury performances last June and she really caught my eye especially when in class when full all round talent was on display. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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