Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Oh, to be back in London...

I grew up in London, England and I often pang with the desire to be back, mostly when there are cool ballet events happening in the city. Firstly, NATALIA OSIPOVA and Ivan Vasiliev, recently engaged to each other, are performing Ashton's Romeo and Juliet together in London. AMAZING. Read this article in the Daily Telegraph for details.

SECONDLY, Sylvie Guillem's new work entitled Sylvie Guillem: 6000 Miles Away is premiering. I cannot believe that this age-defying prima is still dancing such challenging pieces. Read this article about her in The Telegraph.

I have only seen Guillem dance once, when she was with the Royal. I had the insane fortune of seeing her and Darcey Bussell, my favourite dancer of all time, dancing together at the Rioyal Opera House a few years ago, but I've never seen Osipova. HOPEFULLY, this will change soon. The Bolshoi is coming to Canada next year to perform Don Quixote, Osipova's specialty, in Ottawa, and she BETTER be dancing Kitri, or I'll die.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Potential Lockout for Joffrey Ballet

The Chicago Tribune has reported today that there could be a potential lockout for Joffrey Ballet dancers, after the company failed to reach an agreement on new contract terms with the American Guild of Musical Artists.

Executive director Christopher Clinton Conway sent a letter out on Friday to the Joffrey dancers informing them that the beginning of the 2011-2012 season will be cancelled, and that dancers would have to remove all possessions from the Joffrey Tower and turn in their building passes.

The Tribune article mentions that a proposed increase in the number of rehearsal hours to 30 from 25 per week may have contributed to the current impasse. Thoughts on this?

Hopefully the dancers can get back to work as soon as possible. The Joffrey is a world-class company, and it would be a terrible shame to see the company's new season cut.