Haglund's Heel

On Haglund's Calendar – NYCB 2/11 matinee

Here's hoping that the Saturday matinee casting for Concerto Barocco sticks.  Beautiful, talented, and captivating Rebecca Krohn, pictured here on the Spring Season brochure, is scheduled to debut.  She is, of course, one of Haglund's favorite ballerinas.  (Click on the picture for a larger version.)

At that same performance, Sterling Hyltin will debut in Tarantella, and Janie Taylor will debut in Vienna Waltzes.

Come one, come all, Folks.

 

On Haglund's Calendar - Stop the insanity!

Can't wait for NYCB to open the winter season on Tuesday, January 17th with Bouder & Veyette in Tchai Pas and R. Fairchild and Peck in Who Cares?  There are lots of great performances on the schedule, but Haglund's attendance totally depends on the behavior of NYCB Management toward the 4th Ring Society members - as we shall forever be known.

February 4th, Old Hag is trucking down to Washington, D.C. for the magnificent Part/Gomes/Abrera evening performance of ABT's La Bayadere. 

March 14th officially opens the Paul Taylor Dance Company's inaugural Lincoln Center Season of 20 performances, but of course, EVERYONE will be at the special just-added March 13th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION of Aureole.  Tickets for $3.50 (no service fee) go on sale tomorrow Monday at 10:00 a.m. for that special performance.

March 25th will mark the historic debuts of Yuriko Kajiya and Jared Matthews in ABT's Giselle.  So it's in Chicago.  So what.  Haglund will be there, and he's not coming alone.  After yanking away ABT's 2011 Golden Circle donation due to the company's irresponsible use of guest artists instead of its own dancers, it appears that the remote possibility for any 2012 donation will be further reduced every time Haglund has to travel to another city to see what he should be able to see on the home stage. 

Can't wait to see what April has in store.

 

On Haglund's Calendar – Bouder's NYC debut in 4Ts on Fri 9/16

A couple of important NYC debuts during the first week of the season:  Ashley Bouder in The Four Temperaments and Robert Fairchild in Apollo.

Don't miss these performances on Friday, September 16th.

Ballet on the East Side

Here's a heads-up for a couple of new story ballets being presented this spring by choreographers who have worked a long time in our community.

Francis Patrelle has conceived a new ballet production, GILBERT & SULLIVAN, the Ballet! which will be performed by Dances Patrelle at the Dicapo Opera Theater (184 East 76th Street) from May 12 through May 15.  Always inventive, always entertaining, and always well-danced, the Dances Patrelle seasons are a community treasure.  This is its 22nd Spring Season.  Info and tickets here.

Down the East Side at the Baruch College's Mason Hall Theater (Lexington Ave. btwn 22nd and 23rd Sts.) the Lumiere Ballet, which is based in Bay Shore, will present its premiere of El Cid choreographed by Lumiere Ballet's co-founder and co-director, Venti Petrov, to music by Jules Massenet.  Mr. Petrov first presented a one-act version of the ballet about the Castillian warrior who conquered Valencia at the Dokoudovsky New York Conservatory of Dance a year ago.  This single performance on April 23rd will mark the world premiere of Petrov's full production.  Info and tickets here.

 

On Haglund's Calendar – New Dosado-er at NYCB

Allemande left and dosado — On Thursday, February 24, Ashley Bouder will debut in Square Dance.  Y'all may wanna swing by for it.

On Haglund's Calendar – Divertimento No. 15 Debuts @ NYCB

Much to look forward to next week.  After a quick getaway to Washington D.C. to catch Diana Vishneva in the Mariinsky's final performance of Giselle, Haglund will definitely be at the Tuesday evening NYCB performance to see the debuts of five out of the eight dancers in Divertimento No. 15.  The newbies include Haglund favorites Lauren King and Rebecca Krohn.  The Saturday matinee includes another favorite, Jennie Somogyi, in  Mirage which is a Martins/Calatrava piece that Haglund wants to see again.

It is quite wonderful to see that all of the performances of the major classics Swan Lake and  Giselle are effectively sold out in New York and Washington during the same week.  Even though many of us have always known that ballet is the greatest art of all, it's a good sign to see that the current general public is catching on, too. 

And how about that Prince and his quarter of a million dollar gift to ABT among other big arts gifts he made in the NY area!  The last rock star to give big, big bucks to ballet was – ahhh – Prince.  He could be starting another movement.  While we're talking about Prince, do we need another ballet to Prince's music?  Yes we do!!  And don't think he wouldn't like a gig on the Met's stage.  While we're waiting for that, we need to up the speculation about Sir Paul McCartney's ballet score.  What company landed this and who's got the loose lips on the details?

On Haglund's Calendar – NYCB The Magic Flute

The Magic Flute and Tricky Dick open at Lincoln Center tonight.  Even though Nixon's accomplishments with the Chinese were important, Haglund cannot bring himself to relive any of those humiliating years rehashed by John Adams' opera.  But The Magic Flute is guaranteed to bring warmth and sun to this gray, wet day.  The good news is that Punxsutawney Phil and, more importantly, Staten Island Chuck predicted an early spring. Here's Chuck now:

 "Dude, the press is the enemy."

On Haglund's Calendar – perhaps too much

NYCB opens the Winter Season on Tuesday, January 18th, and Haglund plans to be there for a wonderful evening of Walpurgisnacht Ballet, Duo Concertant, Valse Fantaisie, and The Four Temperaments.  Hopefully, you will be there, too.

 

Then Haglund will Bolt down to DC the next day (Jan. 19th) to see ABT’s Stella Abrera debut as Caroline in Tudor’s Jardin aux Lilas, and Maria Riccetto and David Hallberg debut in Balanchine’s Duo Concertant.  As if that wasn’t a rich enough program already, add Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo in Theme and Variations and Fancy Free with Gomes, Radetsky, and Salstein.

 

Saturday, January 22nd sees a return trip to DC for the Reyes, Cornejo, Simkin, Boylston cast for the new production of Ratmansky’s The Bright Stream. 

 

The following Friday January 28th at 6 p.m., The Film Association’s Dance on Camera Festival screens the world premiere of  Fabrice Herrault’s film CLAUDE BESSY, LIGNES D’UNE VIE (Traces of a Life) at the Walter Reade Theatre.  Later that evening, Susan Stroman’s new ballet set to the music of Duke Ellington will premiere at NYCB.  The program includes Ratmansky’s romp, Concerto DSCH, and Wheeldon’s Polyphonia.   Haglund will be at both events – simultaneously, if necessary.

 

Then on February 21st, the impossibly magnetic artist with the heavenly voice known as

 

will be in concert at Carnegie Hall.  People, that’s a Monday and a holiday, and there are tickets as low as $17.  But they won’t be there long, so go here and reserve yours.  If you are having the slightest thought of missing this concert, go here for a sampler.  Dmitri Hvorostovky's appearances in New York are getting less frequent and less frequent.  Rumors are that he may sing this entire concert in one breath.  He is also appearing at The Met this month in Simon Boccanegra, but you won't find any tickets for $17.

 

December showings – Emerging Pictures Ballet in Cinema series

Mark your calendars for these screenings by Emerging Pictures Ballet in Cinema program:

December 19th - Big Cinemas Manhattan (239 East 59th Street)
LIVE !  The Bolshoi performs The Nutcracker

December 19th - Kew Gardens Theatre (81-05 Lefferts Blvd.)
Flames of Paris by The Bolshoi

December 26th - Symphony Space (2537 Broadway)
The Nutcracker by the Royal Ballet

CLICK HERE.  If you live outside of Manhattan, type in your zip code to retrieve the information for your location.

If you have any trouble finding the information on the website, call Emerging Pictures at 212-245-6767 (Barry).  Tell him Haglund sent you.

 

On Haglund's Calendar – Yorkville Nutcracker & the brand new Joffrey Ballet School/Gelsey Kirkland Academy Nutcracker

The calendar is getting crowded.  Francis Patrelle's Yorkville Nutcracker opens December 9th at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College.  Jenifer Ringer, who is dancing radiantly, will be the Sugar Plum Fairy.

This may have slipped under your radar.  The Joffrey Ballet School and the Gelsey Kirkland Academy have a new production of The Nutcracker which will open at John Jay College's Lynch Theater on December 17th.  The choreographers are Gelsey Kirkland and Misha Chernov, who co-direct the Classical Division at the Joffrey school as well as run Gelsey's new academy. 

Now before you launch into the Sleeping Beauty histrionics, keep in mind that Gelsey's rich history includes at least two first class Nutcracker productions:  Balanchine's and Baryshnikov's.  She knows a little something about building this story into a great ballet, and she knows a little something about tidy and luminous dancing.  Haglund isn't going to this in order to see a lot of spinning around or fancy costumes which are everywhere this season; he's going to see what Gelsey has achieved with the students' upper bodies and the development of their theatrical aptitudes.  We all should be interested.

 

 

On Haglund's Calendar – NYCB The Nutcracker Opening Night 11/26

Opening night of The Nutcracker is fewer than two weeks away.  Come on, People, get yourselves in the spirit.  Look at that awesome cast!  Awesome, indeed, but the ballet's highlights for Haglund are always the little Nutcracker Prince's mimed summation of the battle with the mice and, of course, the fearless bunny's variation.  Can't wait!

SUGARPLUM: Ringer;
CAVALIER: J. Angle;
DEWDROP: Bouder;
HERR DROSSELMEIER: La Fosse;
MARZIPAN: Pereira;
HOT CHOCOLATE: Muller, la Cour;
COFFEE: Reichlen;
TEA: Ulbricht;
CANDY CANE: Suozzi;
MOTHER GINGER: Scordato;
FLOWERS: King, Laracey;
DOLLS: Brown, Manzi;
SOLDIER: Schumacher;
MOUSE KING: J. Peck;
DR & FRAU STAHLBAUM: Lowery, Seth.

On Haglund's Calendar – NYCB 6/5 – BE THERE

Haglund has a tickling inkling that the lone woman in the choreographic pack in this Spring Season at NYCB is going to show all the boys how it’s done.

Melissa Barak - true believer in the ballet vocabulary, craft-oriented
Story ballet - gangsta's, Las Vegas
Robert Fairchild and Jenifer Ringer - glam, theatrical, more glam
Jay Greenberg - composer whose music is known for depth, drama, orchestral structure, beautiful melodies
Santiago Calatrava – scenery from his artistic side, not his engineering side.

Be there for the premiere.

On Haglund's Calendar: NYCB McGregor premiere

Wayne McGregor presents his first choreographic composition for an American company this Friday, May 14th, at NYCB.  The choreography's title, Outlier, and the title of Thomas Ades' violin concerto used by McGregor, Concentric Paths, already conjure up images of interest.  Whether expectations are met or not, the evening's success is already assured with Jenifer Ringer and Philip Neal leading the season's first performance of Serenade – the cast of which also includes Kaitlyn Gilliland.

On Haglund's Calendar: NYCB 5/4 Robert Fairchild & Sterling Hyltin in Duo Concertant

Of course, seeing Robert Fairchild and Sterling Hyltin in their New York debuts in Duo Concertant isn't the only bit of excitement scheduled for the evening.  Symphony in Three Movements will include the debuts of Janie Taylor, Ana Sophia Scheller, Rebecca Krohn, and Sebastien Marcovici.  As an added bonus, we will be treated to Jennie Somogyi in The Four Temperaments.  With Concerto Barocco opening the program, it will certainly be a night for the violins and piano.  (Not complaining.  Just being observant.)

On Haglund's Calendar – NYCB Gala

Haglund's got ants in his pants waiting for the first pitch to be thrown out to officially open the 2010 Spring Ballet Season in New York.  It's going to be an exciting one.  The first innings on April 29th will have both Millepied and Ratmansky on the mound pitching premieres.