Haglund's Heel

On Haglund's Calendar – a whole slew of "Cs"

NYCB runs with Symphony in C this week, and Haglund plans to see all four performances.  Everyone should see at least one of these performances.  In the past year, the company has proven that it has cast after cast after cast drawn from all levels within the company who can deliver this ballet with peerless beauty, blistering speed, and precision.  

This week we'll see debuts in the Third Movement from Anthony Huxley on Thursday night and Ana Sophia Scheller on Friday night.  Also on Friday night, the electric Taylor Stanley will debut in the Fourth Movement.  Haglund cannot wait to see him dance with Lauren King that night.  Taylor also debuts in Western Symphony on Wednesday night.

Very strong programing this week.  If you haven't seen Sterling Hyltin rip & pick her way through the light pink leotard role in Symphony in Three Movements, you must see her in one of her four performances on Thursday, Saturday matinee, Saturday evening, or Sunday matinee.

 

Hvorostovsky & Rachmaninov – Carnegie Hall

Dmitri Hvorostovsky and pianist Ivari Ilja will present an evening of Rachmaninov songs on Wednesday, March 27 at Carnegie Hall.  Unbelievably, tickets start at $19.50 and are available for purchase right now. 

Here's the program:

• RACHMANINOFF "Child, thou art as beautiful as a flower," Op. 8, No. 2
• RACHMANINOFF "Morning," Op. 4, No. 2
• RACHMANINOFF "At the gates of the Holy cloister"
• RACHMANINOFF "In my soul," Op. 14, No. 10
• RACHMANINOFF "Night is mournful," Op. 26, No. 12
• RACHMANINOFF "Do you remember the evening"
• RACHMANINOFF "Again I am alone," Op. 26, No. 9
• RACHMANINOFF "How fair this spot," Op. 21, No. 7
• RACHMANINOFF "The raising of Lazarus," Op. 34, No. 6
• RACHMANINOFF "Lilacs," Op. 21, No. 5
• RACHMANINOFF "I wait for thee," Op. 14, No. 1
• SVIRIDOV GEORGY SVIRIDOV Selections from "Petersburg"
  ·· "The weathercock"
  ·· "The golden oar"
  ·· "The bride"
  ·· "A voice from the chorus"
  ·· "I am nailed to a tavern counter"
  ·· "The breeze has brought from far away"
  ·· "Petersburg song"
  ·· "Those born in obscure years"
  ·· "The virgin city"

 

If you have not heard this great voice in recital at Carnegie Hall, don't miss this chance.  Often, he sings an encore of Russian folk songs a cappella with such soul that your own soul feels reborn.

Buy your tickets now.

On Haglund's Calendar – André Watts & Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2

André Watts held a couple of hundred people spellbound tonight at Lincoln Center.  No, not while seated at the piano – that starts Wednesday.  Tonight he sat down with WQXR's Jeff Spurgeon in the middle of the Rubenstein Atrium to speak about his life, career, and music.

Currently a Professor of Music at Indiana University where he holds the Hamlin Endowed Chair, the 66-year-old Watts has a 50-year relationship with the New York Philharmonic that began when Leonard Bernstein selected him to perform in the famously televised Young People's Concerts.  Ah, those were the good ole days. 

Tonight he shared anecdotes and musings from his career.  An audience member asked him if he recalled any "magical moments" in performances with any of the great conductors or musicians with whom he has performed.  That elicited a lengthy and fascinating lecture about how it isn't the artist's job to go out on stage and fill himself with emotion or feel magic with the other performers.  The job is to make the audience feel the magic and emotion by working as hard as possible to stay on track with the conductor and be unselfishly responsive when a musician in the orchestra wavers off course.  He kept using the example of the horns being late, for some reason.

Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and next Tuesday, André Watts will perform Rachmaninoff's impossibly beautiful Piano Concerto No. 2 with the NY Phil.  This is one of Haglund's most favorite pieces of music, and he enjoys a recurring fantasy of an Alexei Ratmansky ballet to this music for Veronika Part, Stella Abrera, Sarah Lane, Yuriko Kajiya (and some of the guys, too) in which the ladies are costumed in this:

A feller can dream, can't he?  Haglund will be dreaming at the NY Phil on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and maybe Tuesday, too.

On Haglund's Calendar – Satellite BalletFriday, Nov. 2 @ John Jay College

Satellite Ballet's next performance of its very original work which is marked by strong collaborations among choreographers, musicians, digital artists, writers, and photographers will occur on Friday, November 2nd at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College. 

Troy Schumacher and Kevin Draper head this group of diverse artists who have previously shown their work at the Baryshnikov Arts Center where Haglund saw one of their promising programs. 

There are still a few tickets left here.

 

On Haglund's Calendar – Symphony in C @ NYCB

Next week we get our first look of the Fall Season at Symphony in C.  Always an enormous pleasure to watch at NYCB, it could prove unusually exciting next week as a number of dancers debut in challenging roles.

In the first performance on Tuesday, October 2nd,  

First Movement        Ana Sophia Scheller (repl. Abi Stafford) with Andrew Veyette
Second Movement   Teresa Reichlen debuts with Jonathan Stafford
Third Movement       Erica Pereira debuts with Antonio Carmena
Fourth Movement     Lauren King debuts (repl. Tiler Peck) with A. Danchig-Waring

On the next evening Anthony Huxley debuts opposite Lauren King in the Fourth Movement.

There are going to be a lot of excited feet on the stage Tuesday night moving very fast.  Don't miss them!

 

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.