Haglund's Heel

Bolshoi's Lost Illusions in Manhattan March 1 & 6

The Village East Cinema on 2nd Avenue at East 12th Street in Manhattan will present a captured transmission of Lost Illusions on Saturday, March 1st at 12pm and on Thursday, March 6th at 7pm. Tickets are not on sale yet. You'll have to keep checking their website. Right now, Village East is selling tickets for screenings through 2/18.

Whew. Thanks to Pathé Live for making it happen.

 

Boston Ballet @ Lincoln Center

Rep details for the upcoming visit by Boston Ballet this summer have been announced. The company performs at the Koch Theater June 25-29 which is right in the middle of ABT's oddull (odd+dull) casted Swan Lake week. A little bit of pointless nudity should certainly spice up the ballet week at Lincoln Center and ensure David Koch's attendance. The Koch Theater would be wise to note that special feature where most adults can see it before purchasing tickets for their kids.

Program 1

The Second Detail – Forsythe
New work by Jose Martinez
Cacti – Ekman (clip)

Program 2

Symphony in Three Movements - Balanchine
Afternoon of a Faun - Nijinsky
Plan to B - Elo (same soup, different bowl)
Bella Figura - Kylian (features the pointless nudity)

 

Update: Lost Illusions cinema presentation

Pathé Live reported to us this afternoon that they are very close to naming the new NYC cinema and dates for the presentation of Alexei Ratmansky's Lost Illusions performed by the Bolshoi Ballet. An announcement could possibly come as soon as tomorrow.

Manhattan won't get the live transmission this Sunday, but will see it shortly thereafter. Pathé Live is hopeful about being able to show the Bolshoi's Marco Spada as a live transmission in Manhattan on  March 30th. They confirmed that they have assumed the role of U.S. distributor of the Bolshoi series and plan to show live presentations of future productions on their schedule in the New York City area. The wheels are rolling.

Meanwhile, Lehman Stages in the Bronx is set to present captured transmissions of Jewels on February 23rd, Lost Illusions on March 2nd, Marco Spada on April 27th. All showings are at 2pm. Here's the link.

This Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BolshoiBalletintheUS?ref=hl is a good place to get the most updated information on future cinema streams.

 

observations 1/30

The Approval Matrix in the February 3rd issue of New York Magazine places NYCB's Concerto Barocco in the extreme Highbrow & Brilliant position on the grid. Can't disagree with that. All last week, the company shone its brightest in this masterpiece. And then last night Rebecca Krohn delivered a stunning debut in the First Violin role with Abi Stafford exhibiting cat-like energy, prowl, and elevation in the Second Violin role. They repeat at the Saturday matinee.

The final Concerto Barocco of the Winter Season is on Sunday, March 2nd which will be a blow-out performance of CB, The Four Temperaments, and Stravinsky Violin Concerto. FDNY, stand by.

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Don't forget about the screening of the movie Giselle at Lincoln Center's Dance on Camera Festival this Sunday at 8pm. It may be New York's only chance to ever see Gillian Murphy in the title role since ABT prefers to cast Sue Heck from The Middle as Giselle. Here's Sue with her tall, clueless, adoring daddy.

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Minnesota Public Radio and the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal continue to try to dig out the reasons for the sudden resignation of the entire Board of Directors of Minnesota Dance Theatre.

The Board quit right in the middle of the company's two-week performance season in Minneapolis.

MPR got its hands on a statement made by Artistic Director Lise Houlton, which you can read here, but neither she nor any board members are returning calls from the press.  Press on, folks – full-court, if necessary.

 

 

Minnesota Dance Theatre Board resigns

The entire 20-member Board of Directors of Minnesota Dance Theatre has resigned citing “it is no longer able to serve the needs of the organization going forward.”

The Minneapolis StarTribune reported that the company, founded by Loyce Houlton more than a half-century ago and currently run by her daughter, former ABT and Stuttgart Ballet soloist Lise Houlton, along with former NYCB principal and Minneapolis native Charles Askegard, has a history of difficult dealings between board members and artistic directorship. Back in the 1980s, the board fired the company's founder and attempted one of those combined-company time-share arrangements with Pacific Northwest Ballet which was unsuccessful.

Historically, MDT has featured a lot of contemporary ballets along with its successful Nutcracker. It finished 2012 (the last Form 990 filed) in the black, but it has struggled financially like many other regional companies.

All of this turbulence coming shortly before ABT's visit to Minneapolis in April makes one suspect that David Koch's ballet company may once again be involved in the upheaval as it was a couple of years ago when ABT assisted in the ouster of the director of Ballet San Jose and also forced its obnoxious and controversial affiliation through the Dance Department at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts without the esteemed faculty's input or knowledge.

Minneapolis is a largely untapped classical ballet market. Given the way in which ABT previously wormed its way through the back door to leverage an independent organization, it might be expected to work in Minneapolis as well.

That an entire Board has withdrawn its support from the state's largest dance company is a significant matter and should be of concern to us all.

February 1st editor's note:

In a note to H.H., Charles Askegard clarified that he became the Associate Artistic Director of MDT in August 2013 and resigned in November 2013. He knew nothing of the company's board of director's decision to resign.

 

RNZB → LA → Santa Barbara → Mpls → NYC

The Royal New Zealand Ballet is on its way to the U.S. for its first tour here in more than twenty years.

Performances in LA begin on January 31st followed by stops in Santa Barbara and Minneapolis before opening at NYC's Joyce Theater on February 12th.

This news video glimpse of rehearsals with Artistic Director Ethan Stiefel suggests a sharp, disciplined company that is going to make a fabulous impression from coast to coast here.

This Sunday, the RNZB's movie, Giselle, starring Gillian Murphy will screen as part of the Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center.

 

From Emerging Pictures – Why Manhattan lost Lost Illusions

As a follow-up to the story which we first broke here on the blog last Friday morning, our reader, Carol, reached out directly to Emerging Pictures/Ballet in Cinema for an update on the live transmission of the Bolshoi's Lost Illusions. Here is their message:

Circumstances beyond our control have led to these developments – Big Cinemas 59’s closure was news to us as well; and Emerging Pictures is no longer the US rights holder and distributor of the Bolshoi Ballet, so booking the Bolshoi program into any theatres no longer fall under our purview.

I sincerely apologies for any inconvenience and disappointment – we too think it’s a shame if these productions are not shown in NYC.

Best.

Emerging Pictures

While the explanation is appreciated, one has to wonder if the closing was really as much of a surprise to EP as it was to us. EP normally lists the transmissions and dates on their website several weeks ahead of time; so, they must have been aware that there was a problem weeks ago. They could have made an announcement at that time. Also, their website, Ballet in Cinema, gives no hint of a loss of distributorship and continues to advertise Bolshoi screenings across the country. Basically, we're not getting the full story from them.

 

observations 1/26

Oh my goodness. Oh oh oh. If you did not catch Sterling Hyltin in last night’s Rubies at New York City Ballet, you missed another one of NYCB’s raise-the-bar performances. Holy mosquito legs, Batman. Few things blow across the stage lighter and faster than Sterling Hyltin. And just when you thought the evening had hit its peak, out came Maria Kowroski and Tyler Angle to deliver their most lustrous and luminous Diamonds ever. What a grand night at the ballet it was.

Unfortunately, that seems to have been Maria’s and Tyler’s last Diamonds of the season, but you can catch Sterling in Rubies on Sunday, February 2nd.

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Punxsutawney Phil had better get an early start on his day, because February 2nd is going to be busy. If he knows what’s good for him, Phil will predict a quick end to this crappy winter. He could end up as somebody’s stew if he makes the wrong call.

After Phil’s announcement, everyone has to run off to find a morning cinema presentation of the Bolshoi’s Lost Illusions. Phil will have to drive an hour to Altoona to see it, but at least he’ll have the opportunity. As of today, Emerging Pictures/Ballet in Cinema hasn’t let the ever-faithful Manhattan market know where the cinema presentation will be shown now that the Big Cinemas Theater on E. 59th Street has closed, as exclusively reported by Haglund on Friday. Why the blackout in NYC? Come on, folks, pull it together. 23rd St, BAM, 42nd St, 34th St. Make. It. Happen.

After Lost Illusions, we all have to hot-foot-it over to NYCB to catch Sterling Hyltin in Rubies at 3pm. By the way, it seems that only 4th ring is being sold at the moment.

Then there is Super Bowl pre-game. Then it’s a race back up to Lincoln Center to catch Gillian Murphy and the Royal New Zealand Ballet in its new movie, Giselle, at 8pm and finally a race back home to catch the end of the Super Bowl.

Haglund is taking Monday off which, by the way, is currently expected to include rain mixed with snow.

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Speaking of RNZB, which visits L.A., Santa Barbara, Minneapolis, and New York over the next few weeks, there is a little flutter in the media over the fact that Ethan Stiefel has yet to ink a new contract as Artistic Director. His current contract ends this fall.

There aren't many retired dancers who can jingle all the options that he has in his pocket. He could step in as AD for either of New York's two major ballet companies or do the same in an European company or anywhere else. He's got the Flesh and Bone consultant/choreographer gig (with Radetsky starring) which is simply going to re-ignite all that Center Stage euphoria that has not been extinguished even after 14 years. (Reminisce with the cast list here.)

NZ writer Tom Cardy spoke with Stiefel about his future plans:

Stiefel's three-year contract ends in September this year. It poses the question, will he want to continue in the role?

Stiefel is diplomatic in his answer. He says that decision partly rests on the RNZB board and whether they would want him to continue. But he also still has to make the decision himself, and at this stage – just days before he flies back home – he is still in discussions with the board. "First of all, if the board wasn't satisfied with my work I wouldn't have a say in it. That takes care of it. But we are conducting mutual discussions and so on. There's a lot to wrap one's head around, also personally with my family and friends and so on being two days [by air] away.

"But you know, I'm just making the most out of the moment and the rest will be what will be."

Those board members and major donors who profess to care about ABT should not waste time with delays in signing him up and putting an end to our misery with Kevin McKenzie's Grigorovich-management of ABT. How close right now is the company to financial catastrophe from this regime's mismanagement? We don't know, because ABT's current tax reporting Form 990 hasn't been made public and is many months past due. They're making a habit of past due filings - why? - because it delays making the ever-dismal picture public. Haglund will have a nice comparison of the financial performance of ABT, NYCB and SFB for everyone as soon as the IRS can wrangle the filing out of America's national ballet company and make it public.

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Speaking of McKenzie's wasted homegrown talent, last week in San Francisco Ballet's Gala, Simone Messmer performed The Man I Love from Balanchine's Who Cares?  The San Francisco Chronicle pronounced her as one of two major additions to the roster "that hinted at marvelous evenings to come" - the other addition being Mathilde Froustey. From the SF Chronicle:

Earlier, Simone Messmer, formerly of American Ballet Theatre, joined with suave Rubén Martin Cintas for "The Man I Love," from Balanchine's "Who Cares?" This was a classy, even patrician coupling with Messmer exhibiting a long line and fluid extremities (both Froustey and Messmer will dance in "Giselle" Sunday afternoon and Wednesday evening).

Yes, indeed, Simone has three performances of Myrtha coming up. She seems to be so much more appreciated at the much bigger, more financially stable San Francisco Ballet than she was at ABT.

 

NYCB – Jewels 1/22

In recent years there has been a little inkling from NYCB that it wants to treat Jewels less as a three-act, full length ballet and more as a collection of distinct repertory pieces. For years, the company has excerpted Rubies, and then last year for the first time, Diamonds was excerpted and presented as part of a highly successful evening with other unrelated ballets.

These days, the Repertory index of NYCB's website doesn’t even include Jewels in the alphabetical listing. It lists Diamonds, Emeralds, and Rubies as separate ballets under D,E,&R. Jewels, it seems, could be on the path to becoming simply another block programing concept and title. It’s all fine, though, and probably the best way to leverage the value of the repertory, but it is kind of interesting to watch this little bit of evolution slowly play out.

The season’s first performance of Jewels on Wednesday night – or Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds – was quite enjoyable in many ways, not so in others.

Emeralds, led by Ashley Bouder and Sara Mearns, who were graciously partnered by Jared Angle and Jonathan Stafford, was blunt in the port de bras department. Arms that don’t work from the back + dropped elbows = saggy triceps brachii, regardless of how thin one is.

Ashley’s feet were beautifully supple and silent, and her leg lines revealed an occasional nice touch of French Romanticism. Flirty with a sense of mystery, she knew exactly where to dab the parfum.

The PdT danced by Erica Pereira, Ashley Laracey and Antonio Carmena was outstanding in its style, form, unison, and temperament. The elegance with which Erica and Ashley carried their upper bodies, the tapered lines of their tidy arms which never flew too high or too far behind their torsos, and the lift and ease of their grand allegro was stunning. Theirs was the type of dancing that will bring Haglund back to Jewels again and make him look forward to the time when these two artists dance the leading roles in Emeralds. The few moments when Jonathan Stafford partnered Ashley in a spectacular arabesque lift made it clear that his partnering abilities are going to be sorely missed when he retires this year.

Megan Fairchild and Joaquin De Luz in the Rubies PdD with Teresa Reichlen in the tall girl role delivered spunky allegro that was awe-inspiring.

It is probably safe to say that the main reason many people showed up for this program was Diamonds. You could sense the excitement and anticipation as the audience waited for the close of the second intermission followed by the absolute silence in the house when Maria Kowroski appeared in the upstage corner in her glittering cream bodice and white tutu.

Imperial and glamorous, Maria was born to wear diamonds. As she elegantly walked forward, slightly over-crossing each step to emphasize its importance, a gallant Tyler Angle walked from the opposite corner to meet her. What followed was a deeply-felt private conversation in a public setting, perhaps between choreographer and ballerina or perhaps only in our imaginations. But on this night, the conversation swelled with love and resistance, vulnerability and trust, and compromise and acceptance.

When watching Maria and Tyler dance Diamonds, one never knows the details of the story, but one always feels its depth. Their performance on Wednesday night was filled with beautiful shapes and tender moments. This eternal diamond Pump Bump Award is bestowed upon them.

Sad News – Big Cinemas Manhattan on E 59th St has closed

As of last evening, the Big Cinemas Manhattan at 239 East 59th Street where many of us have so enjoyed the live presentations of the Bolshoi Ballet, Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and others is CLOSED - this according to Phoenix Adlabs Theater Managment which ran the place. A call directly to the movie house this morning confirmed the closure.

The person with whom Haglund spoke today at Phoenix Adlabs indicated that the cinema could possibly re-open shortly under new management but she had no further details. The person at the 59th Street cinema location didn't seem to be aware of any plans to re-open.

So, it looks like our chances to see Lost Illusions in a live presentation by the Bolshoi Ballet on February 2nd and possibly Marco Spada in March have been lost although the Ballet in Cinema website indicates Lost Illusions encore presentations in outlying areas in March.

What a sad day. Here's hoping that a fix is in the works somewhere by someone.