Haglund's Heel

observations 10/29

It's World Ballet Day. Here's the schedule:

 

 

observations 10/25

Sunday seriousness.

 

9AM Sunday morning, New Yorkers focused on getting the job done:

NYCB cancels 2021 winter and spring performances

Say it ain't so. Say it ain't so.

We will have to wait until September to see NYCB on stage in person per the company's announcement today. It is also tragic that the "good news"  they wanted to publicize is that they plan to waste their first year back on a bunch of  ballet-ignorant experimentalists who don't know their asses from a hole in the ground. Perhaps that was just NYCB's way of softening the blow and the disappointment of the cancelled seasons: Heck, we were just going to miss a bunch of crap anyway. Thanks for telling us.

That first season back had better be loaded up with all things pretty by Balanchine. It's best to withhold those donations until the schedule comes out.

Maria Kowroski and Ask la Cour will officially retire in October; Gonzalo Garcia will retire in February. It would seem that others might just disappear without fanfare. It is possible, you know.

And in other news to go with these times, a full nest of Asian Giant Murder Hornets was discovered in a tree trunk in Blaine, Washington which is at the Canadian border. They probably had plans to visit selective polling sites in eleven days.

Our hope is that in eleven days, we will experience euphoria that will take us all the way through to the middle of next year.

 

observations 10/22

Gramilano tells us that tonight at 6PM Italian time (12 Noon NYC), there will be a digital stream of a UN La Scala documentary-dance gala. Gramilano, who Haglund reads every single day, says:

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Foundation of the United Nations, Teatro alla Scala, following on the initiative of the Italian Permanent Representation to the United Nations, together with the Founder and main Partner of the bank Intesa Sanpaolo’s Season, has made a documentary on dance with the participation of the theatre’s étoile Roberto Bolle, the principal dancers and La Scala’s corps de ballet.

The video will be broadcast at the New York Glass Palace tonight, 22 October at 6.00 pm (Italian time) and streamed on:

youtube.com/unitednations

facebook.com/UNWebTV

twitter.com/UNWebTV

facebook.com/unitednations

twitter.com/UN

webtv.un.org/

www.un.org/en/observances/un-day

teatroallascala.org

facebook/teatroallascala

The program will include Claudio Coviello dancing an excerpt from Nureyev's Act II of Sleeping Beauty and Nicoletta Manni & Roberto Bolle in Swan Lake Act III.

 

Program reminder – NYCB Fall digital Season Week 4

Tonight at 8:00 PM 

www.nycballet.com

https://www.youtube.com/nycballet

https://www.facebook.com/nycballet

_{(available until Tuesday, October 27 at 8pm EDT)}

RODEO: FOUR DANCE EPISODES (Third and Fourth Episodes)
Brittany Pollack, *Justin Peck, Daniel Ulbricht, Gonzalo Garcia, Andrew Veyette
Conductor: Andrews Sill. Filmed on 5/11/2017.

PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION (Excerpt):
Tuileries: Tiler Peck
Bydlo: Sterling Hyltin, Sara Mearns, Claire Kretzschmar, Abi Stafford
Promenade: Gonzalo Garcia
Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks: Tyler Angle, Gonzalo Garcia, Joseph Gordon, Aaron Sanz*, Andrew Veyette*
Solo Pianist: Stephen Gosling. Filmed on 5/10/2017.

YEAR OF THE RABBIT (Year of Our Lord pas de deux)
Indiana Woodward, Taylor Stanley
Conductor: Daniel Capps. Filmed on 1/25/2018.

POLYPHONIA (Excerpt):
IX.: Lauren Lovette*, Andrew Veyette*
X.: Lauren Lovette*, Megan Fairchild*, Alston Macgill*, Sara Mearns, Andrew Veyette*, Jovani Furlan*, Roman Mejia*, Silas Farley*
Solo Pianists: Stephen Gosling, Alan Moverman. Filmed on 1/30/2020.

RUSSIAN SEASONS (Excerpt):
IX.: Abi Stafford, Sara Mearns, Amar Ramasar
Conductor: Andrews Sill; Solo Violinist: Arturo Delmoni; Soprano: Veronica Mitina. Filmed on 2/1/2018.

X.: Taylor Stanley*
Conductor: Andrew Litton; Solo Violinist: Kurt Nikkanen. Filmed on 4/26/2017.

MERCURIAL MANOEUVRES (Pas de deux)
Tiler Peck, Tyler Angle
Conductor: Andrew Litton, Solo Pianist: Alan Moverman. Filmed on 4/25/2017.

EVERYWHERE WE GO (Finale)
Maria Kowroski, Sara Mearns*, Indiana Woodward*, Teresa Reichlen, Russell Janzen, Taylor Stanley*, Gonzalo Garcia
Conductor: Daniel Capps. Filmed on 10/3/2019.

Updated 10/17observations 10/15

Kind of a slow ballet news day, so we thought we'd report on the cub's weekly weigh-in this morning. Yes, the cub is required to be weighed every week AND his girth is measured -- in front of everybody while he is naked. In fact, the humiliating weigh-in and belly measuring are videoed and then transmitted without his permission or knowledge to the entire world. Today he nearly broke the scales at 5.4 lbs. But the shock was that in one week, his girth went from 13.7 inches to 15.9 inches. You just know that if this little guy added 2.2 inches to his girth in one week during a performance season, he would be hearing loud growls from Papa Bear in the costume department.

Perhaps some will view this as an insensitive but dazzlingly clever lede into our report that this afternoon, Chase Finlay's attorney filed an appeal in the NY Supreme Court. From the appeal document:

Issues: Specify the issues proposed to be raised on the appeal, proceeding, or application for CPLR 5704 review, the grounds for reversal, or modification to be advanced and the specific relief sought on appeal.

1.  Whether the trial court erred in not dismissing the cause of action for violation of Administrative Code Section 10-180, when Plaintiff has alleged that she was secretly photographed, and the legislative history is clear that the Section is only to apply to intimate images taken with knowledge and consent.
2. Whether the trial court erred in not dismissing the cause of action for violation of Administrative Code Section 10-180, and implying intent on behalf of Defendant, when the clear language of the Code requires intent to cause "economic, physical or substantial emotional harm"; such intent was not properly pied, and the legislative history is clear that Administrative Code 10-180 does not apply to disclosures made with an attempt to titillate or brag.
3. Whether the trial court erred in not dismissing the cause of action for violation of Administrative Code Section 10-180, when Section 10-180 is otherwise pre-empted by State law, an argument raised below, but not addressed by the Court in its decision.
4. Whether the trial court erred in denying, without explanation, that branch of Defendant's motion pursuant to CPLR 3024(b) to excise scandalous and prejudicial material from the Complaint, particularly when the trial court dismissed the Second Amended Complaint against all other Defendants, and otherwise dismissed all causes of action except one against Defendant Finlay.

and so it goes...

UPDATE 10/17:

Finlay's counsel's formal filing is a masterful take-down of the plaintiff. He is now asking the court to award compensatory, punitive, and exemplary damages. The Counter Claims and Additional Relevant Facts which begin on page 37 are quite stunning revelations. Many have watched the plaintiff's slow-motion train wreck over the past couple of years, but seeing it all condensed in this filing suggests a very vengeful and troubling exploitation of the legal system. We'll just have to wait and see if plaintiff's attorney can recover from this.

 

 

Program reminder – NYCB Fall Digital Season Week 3

Tonight at 8:00 PM 

www.nycballet.com

https://www.youtube.com/nycballet

https://www.facebook.com/nycballet

You don't want to miss tonight's NYCB Digital Season performance.

You'll be picking your jaw up off the floor after seeing Emily Kikta blaze through the soloist section of Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet. Never has a cloud of pink tulle swirled more beautifully. You'll see a majestic, soaring eagle who magically becomes a ballerina. (Didn't Petipa do something with that theme?) Memory of her first performance in this role some eight or nine years ago still gives Old Hag the goose bumps. The whole program tonight is beyond superb, but Emily – oh, Miss Emily...

BRAHMS-SCHOENBERG QUARTET (First Movement)
Ashley Bouder, Russell Janzen*, Emily Kikta
Conductor: Andrew Litton, Filmed on 5/15/2019

DUO CONCERTANT
Megan Fairchild, Anthony Huxley
Solo Violinist: Arturo Delmoni; Solo Pianist: Elaine Chelton. Filmed on 4/30/2019.

DANCES AT A GATHERING (Scherzo and Finale)
Megan Fairchild, Sterling Hyltin, Unity Phelan, Tyler Angle, Adrian Danchig-Waring, and Peter Walker, with Ashley Bouder, Lauren King, Gonzalo Garcia, and Roman Mejia
Solo Pianist: Susan Walters. Filmed on 10/3/2019.

SYMPHONY IN C (Fourth Movement and Finale)
Erica Pereira and Troy Schumacher**, with Ashley Bouder, Maria Kowroski, Indiana Woodward**, Joseph Gordon**, Tyler Angle, and Sebastian Villarini-Velez**
Conductor: Clotilde Otranto. Filmed on 9/28/2018.

 

 

Program reminder - NYCB Fall digital Season continues

Tonight at 8:00 PM 

www.nycballet.com

https://www.youtube.com/nycballet

https://www.facebook.com/nycballet

_{(available until Tuesday, October 13, at 8 PM EDT)}

 

KAMMERMUSIK NO. 2 (First Movement)
Sara Mearns, Teresa Reichlen
Conductor: Andrews Sill; Solo Piano: Cameron Grant. Filmed on 5/2/2012.

OPUS 19/THE DREAMER (First Movement)
Unity Phelan*, Gonzalo Garcia
Conductor: Andrews Sill; Solo Violin: Arturo Delmoni. Filmed on 1/30/2020.

MOVEMENTS FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA
Maria Kowroski, Ask la Cour
Conductor: Daniel Capps; Solo Piano: Alan Moverman. Filmed on 4/28/2015.

CHIAROSCURO
Ashley Laracey*, Lauren King*, Brittany Pollack*, Andrew Veyette*, Justin Peck*, Giovanni Villalobos*
Guest Conductor: Harrison Hollingsworth. Filmed on 5/12/2017.

RED ANGELS
Maria Kowroski**, Jennie Somogyi, Adrian Danchig-Waring**, Jared Angle**
Guest Electric Violinist: Mary Rowell. Filmed on 5/29/2013.

GLASS PIECES (Third Movement)
Company
Guest Conductor: Harrison Hollingsworth. Filmed on 2/21/2017.

––––––––––––––––––––

Update: In case some hadn't heard, the new panda cub at the National Zoo is a boy! The gender reveal party was yesterday. As most everyone knows, the cub's father, Tian Tian, has been an avid painter for many years. He created two abstract paintings – one pink, one blue – for the event. When the cub's handlers unwrapped the blue painting, there was great cheering and presumably some bet collecting to go with it. Here on the blog, we were kinda hoping to see pink, but we didn't have any money on it.

 

observations 10/2

Whoa Nellie, what a newsy Friday morning to wake up to! Holy Mackerels, how this world can change overnight!

We are, of course, talking about the fact that the new cub at the National Zoo has opened its eyes, begun crawling, and now weighs 3 1/2 lbs. What did you think we were talking about? Mama bear spent time yesterday rolling the cub off of herself onto the floor, stepping back, and waiting for it to crawl to her. Take a look - the first 30 seconds are a little slow but then the choreography takes off:

____________________

Here's a nice little interview with Jock Soto in a local Santa Fe online paper. He talks about his teaching -- in person and on Zoom. Interestingly, though, he says, "At New York City Ballet, they’re not even in class together until January." So, it sounds like at the time of this interview, the company was still planning to rev up again in January. That is certainly a positive sign, isn't it?