Haglund's Heel

NYCB - Half-price tickets

Goldstar.com is offering half-price tickets (3rd ring, side & rear orchestra) for NYCB performances of Sleeping Beauty on Sunday, January 31st 7:00 p.m., R+J on Thursday, January 21 8:00 p.m., and Tradition and Innovation on Thursday, January 14th 8:00 p.m.  Of course, Goldstar charges a fee of $7 or $8, but their discount still seems a good deal.

On Haglund's Calendar – NYCB Fancy Free Sat. Eve. 1/16

Haglund is uber-excited, yes uber-excited, about Robert Fairchild's debut in Fancy Free this Saturday evening.  He's even more uberized in the excitement department by the opportunity to see Georgina Pazcoguin in the same cast, then Joaquin De Luz in Prodigal Son with Maria Kowroski, and finally uber-ending the evening with the uber-glorious*  music from Stravinsky's Firebird.  

* The New York Times has uber-ed its words 6510 times in the past 30 days.  May we suggest an uber-moratorium on ubering for a while?

NYCB Adds 4-week Fall Season!

NYCB announced some annual schedule reshuffling today.  In exchange for giving up two weeks of performances during the first week of January (not his year) and two weeks of performances during June, NYCB will take over four weeks of the New York City Opera's season in September and October.  The opera got $9 million out of the recent $100 million Koch gift as part of the deal.

Not sure any of us likes giving up those winter and spring weeks which will now be available for rental.  Hmmm. How about a two week ABT season in January at the Koch Theater?

Update 01/07/10:
Not everyone is happy about NYCO giving up four weeks to NYCB.  Here's an opera lover's take on the situation published on Bloomberg.com.  Ballet folks feel the opera lover's pain and would be thrown into a suicidal depression were it the NYCB or ABT that had to give up the weeks.  But this is a temporary situation and we all know that NYCO will be back on its feet in time. 

Balletonomics

It’s time to put the foot down on pointe shoes.

Modern manufacturing technology allows the mass production of throwaway monthly contact lenses with a retail price of $20 per pair.  Millions of people insert these things in their eyes and rely on them for sight without incurring bruises, callouses, or blisters.

Modern manufacturing technology allows the mass production of the most complex printed circuit boards imaginable for under $10 each. 

Modern manufacturing technology allows the mass production of the most reliable, beautiful, fully loaded, sexy, environmentally friendly, smell good Mercedes Benz for $40,000.

So why, pound for pound, do pointe shoes (@$60-80 pr) cost so much more than a Mercedes Benz? 

 “Think of the production of pointe shoes as complex as making heart valves,”  sneer the manufacturers while twirling their mustaches.  News flash:  heart valves are mass produced faster and more cheaply.

The pointe shoe companies - all of them - have conspired to hold the ballet profession hostage to the notion that 21st century manufacturing technology cannot mass produce a pointe shoe that will function as well and be as aesthetically pleasing as a handmade shoe.  They do not have the resources to spend on R&D or on new innovative processes for mass manufacturing shoes.  To stay in business, they must promote the old way as the only way.

Let's give credit to the Gaynor Mindon folks for using modern materials, but the production is still by hand, and the resulting shape of the foot while wearing their shoe is not always pleasing.

Dancers seemingly have been given unlimited leeway by artistic directors to abandon the traditionally tapered shoe in favor of a more costly, fully custom-made, more comfortable, pirouette-inducing, brick-like platform.  Sadly, no longer does the function of the pointe shoe include extending the visual line of the leg.  Today, it’s all about comfort and pirouettes.

Here’s one path to the solution:

Each ballet company in this country should recruit a manufacturing scientist for its board of directors.  All of these scientists should form a consortium for the purpose of finding a way to manufacture  - perhaps even build in-house - a pointe shoe with Mercedes Benz sleek and sex appeal and contact lense quality fit at circuit board prices. 

Not at all impossible.

New Year's Eve with the Mariinsky – La Bayadere Shades, Paquita excerpt

Here's the link.  [This video might have an expiration date for access.]

Wow.  Everyone looks fantastic!  Tereshkina and Sarafanov in the La Bayadere PdD are incredible.

How nice to see Yana Selina featured!  She became one of Haglund's favorites during the Mariinsky's last visit to NY City Center in which she gave the most magical performances in Le Spectre de la Rose.

These Paquita costumes are gorgeous.  Kondaurova in blue - oh my!

Alina Somova is doing quite well, indeed, like she maybe spent a little time in Marine Corps Ballet Boot Camp.  Very cleaned up.  Fouettes - no, нет, non pas encore.  But all in all, what a pleasant surprise!

The dancers are drinking on stage with Gergiev?!  What Haglund wouldn't give to clink a glass with him.

Happy New Year to everyone!  [clink, clink]