MISSING ARIZONA
June 25, 2010 · Posted by Swan Lake Samba Girl ·
I haven’t been to Phoenix since early 2001 and I’ve been getting a bit homesick for the desert. Everything seems to be reminding me of the Southwest lately – even last night’s NYCB program with Melissa Barak’s new ballet, Call Me Ben, set in Vegas with its Santiago Calatrava-designed desert-themed backdrops, and then Balanchine’s Western Symphony with the cowboys, saloon girls and Old Tombstone-looking stage piece.Albert Evans and cast in earlier NYCB Western Symphony production, taken from Explore Dance. Photo above that of the main street in Tombstone, AZ, taken from the city’s website. I have to get out there soon. In ...MISSING ARIZONA
June 25, 2010 · Posted by Swan Lake Samba Girl ·
I haven’t been to Phoenix since early 2001 and I’ve been getting a bit homesick for the desert. Everything seems to be reminding me of the Southwest lately – even last night’s NYCB program with Melissa Barak’s new ballet, Call Me Ben, set in Vegas with its Santiago Calatrava-designed desert-themed backdrops, and then Balanchine’s Western Symphony with the cowboys, saloon girls and Old Tombstone-looking stage piece.Albert Evans and cast in earlier NYCB Western Symphony production, taken from Explore Dance. Photo above that of the main street in Tombstone, AZ, taken from the city’s website. I have to get out there soon. In ...MORE PHOTOS OF CALATRAVA’S AWESOME MIRAGE SET
June 25, 2010 · Posted by Swan Lake Samba Girl ·
Above are a couple more photos of Peter Martins’ new Mirage ballet, which I wrote about here, that better showcase Santiago Calatrava’s stunning architectural set. I’d described how it closed at one point, and you can see that in the bottom photo, and I’d forgotten to mention that in the end it radiated a rainbow of color (top photo). Photos are by Paul Kolnik and are taken from Marina Harss’s excellent write-up in The Faster Times. Funny, I recently discovered The Faster Times (I know Marina but I know her as a New Yorker writer) and was really amused to see ...MORE PHOTOS OF CALATRAVA’S AWESOME MIRAGE SET
June 25, 2010 · Posted by Swan Lake Samba Girl ·
Above are a couple more photos of Peter Martins’ new Mirage ballet, which I wrote about here, that better showcase Santiago Calatrava’s stunning architectural set. I’d described how it closed at one point, and you can see that in the bottom photo, and I’d forgotten to mention that in the end it radiated a rainbow of color (top photo). Photos are by Paul Kolnik and are taken from Marina Harss’s excellent write-up in The Faster Times. Funny, I recently discovered The Faster Times (I know Marina but I know her as a New Yorker writer) and was really amused to see ...PETER MARTINS’ NEW “MIRAGE”
June 24, 2010 · Posted by Swan Lake Samba Girl ·
Photos by Paul Kolnik. Top: Robert Fairchild and Kathryn Morgan under Santiago Calatrava’s magnificent set; bottom: Erica Pereira and Anthony Huxley. Earlier this week NYCB put on its last premiere of the season, artistic director Peter Martins’s Mirage. The ballet is set to music by Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen, which was commissioned especially for this ballet, as was another set by architect Santiago Calatrava. Before the performance Mr. Martins and Mr. Salonen were awarded Letters of Distinction from the American Music Center for this ballet. To be honest, I was kind of preoccupied with something and will need to see the ballet ...PETER MARTINS’ NEW “MIRAGE”
June 24, 2010 · Posted by Swan Lake Samba Girl ·
Photos by Paul Kolnik. Top: Robert Fairchild and Kathryn Morgan under Santiago Calatrava’s magnificent set; bottom: Erica Pereira and Anthony Huxley. Earlier this week NYCB put on its last premiere of the season, artistic director Peter Martins’s Mirage. The ballet is set to music by Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen, which was commissioned especially for this ballet, as was another set by architect Santiago Calatrava. Before the performance Mr. Martins and Mr. Salonen were awarded Letters of Distinction from the American Music Center for this ballet. To be honest, I was kind of preoccupied with something and will need to see the ballet ...TWO MORE NYCB PREMIERES: “LUCE NASCOSTA” AND “CALL ME BEN”
June 14, 2010 · Posted by Swan Lake Samba Girl ·
It’s been a season of new ballets and principal dancer farewells at New York City Ballet, and, between that and all the goings-on at ABT, it’s hard to keep up! I realized when meeting a blog reader yesterday at Philip Neal’s farewell performance (so nice to meet you, Vanessa!) that I hadn’t yet written about the last two premieres and people were waiting. I was going to wait until I’d seen each once again, but at least with one of them I won’t get that chance since there was a programming change.Anyway, Maura Bigonzetti’s Luce Nascosta (two photos above, cast ...TWO MORE NYCB PREMIERES: “LUCE NASCOSTA” AND “CALL ME BEN”
June 14, 2010 · Posted by Swan Lake Samba Girl ·
It’s been a season of new ballets and principal dancer farewells at New York City Ballet, and, between that and all the goings-on at ABT, it’s hard to keep up! I realized when meeting a blog reader yesterday at Philip Neal’s farewell performance (so nice to meet you, Vanessa!) that I hadn’t yet written about the last two premieres and people were waiting. I was going to wait until I’d seen each once again, but at least with one of them I won’t get that chance since there was a programming change.Anyway, Maura Bigonzetti’s Luce Nascosta (two photos above, cast ...CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON’S ESTANCIA
June 2, 2010 · Posted by Swan Lake Samba Girl ·
Last Saturday night was the premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s new ballet, Estancia, at New York City Ballet. Everyone in the audience seemed to go wild over it. When it ended, I overheard people saying they didn’t want it to end, and others saying they thought it was his best work, and in the lobby, several of my friends said they really liked it. I thought it was so so. And definitely a departure from Wheeldon’s usual. Estancia is a story ballet, set to to music by Alberto Ginastera, that takes place on a ranch (Estancia is Spanish for ranch) in the ...CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON’S ESTANCIA
June 2, 2010 · Posted by Swan Lake Samba Girl ·
Last Saturday night was the premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s new ballet, Estancia, at New York City Ballet. Everyone in the audience seemed to go wild over it. When it ended, I overheard people saying they didn’t want it to end, and others saying they thought it was his best work, and in the lobby, several of my friends said they really liked it. I thought it was so so. And definitely a departure from Wheeldon’s usual. Estancia is a story ballet, set to to music by Alberto Ginastera, that takes place on a ranch (Estancia is Spanish for ranch) in the ... 
