Septimes Salon

Music in Motion with Billy Novick

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:34:00 GMT

Hello TWB Family

We are just days away from Opening Night of Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises and we have been working diligently to make this production a delight! In making this show a delight, I have invited composer Billy Novick, as a guest blogger, to give you more insight his craft and inspiration behind the music for Hemingway.

Guest Blogger: Billy Novick

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This is the life of a modern composer, and that's what it took me to have the score of Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises become a reality. I don't know how Tchaikovsky did it with internet access being so slow in those days.

The attachments are a good thing—it means I'm sending original music to Septime (Webre, TWB’s Artistic Director) to see if he likes it. The links, from my perspective, are not as gratifying because a link usually means that I am searching for—or being directed to—an existing piece of music.

I LOVE writing music. I'd do it for free...and I almost did. I started working on the Hemingway score back in March of 2012. I didn't receive a dime until January of 2013 and didn't sign a contract until early February.

I also love collaborating with other musicians, choreographers, poets, and filmmakers. Septime is one of the most dynamic visionaries I've ever had the privilege of working with. I must admit that when I first read The Sun Also Rises a) I didn't like it at all, and b) I thought "how in the world is anyone going to make a ballet out of this?” It hardly screams out music or dance, but Septime's imagination has brought it to life for me.

The score is very eclectic, featuring about 10 different genres of music. I was hired because of my background in 1920s jazz, but I was excited by the opportunity to write French musettes and cafe music, some "gypsy jazz"—and all that’s just in the first act. The second act, set mostly in Pamplona, Spain, has some flamenco, bullfight and Spanish guitar music…and even a klezmer song.

learn more about the composer at www.billynovick.com

Hemingway Behind the Scenes with Helen Huang

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:02:00 GMT

Hello TWB Family,

Spring has sprung, and I certainly hope you are excited for our upcoming world premiere of Heminway: The Sun Also Rises. The company artists are enthusiastic about performing this new works, especially in the vibrantly designed costumes by Helen Huang. With that in mine, I've invited Helen to write a guest blog about her creative contribution and motivation behind the costumes for Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises.

Helen Huang on Hemingway Costume Designs

Working with the Washington Ballet has been a treat. I have admired Septime’s work for some time and jumped at the chance to collaborate with such a dynamic artist. Having an extensive background in theatre and opera, I was eager to stretch my artistic hand into ballet.

The beauty and lyricism of dance offers wonderful, expressive, opportunities to a costume designer. I have always been fascinated with this period and the idea of the ‘lost generation’. Nonetheless approaching this design required an incredible amount of thorough research. I must thank my MFA Costume Design students at the University of Maryland Kelsey Hunt, Robert Croghan, Kate Fulop, Kara Waala, Aryna Petrashenko & Maho Nishida, for the enormous stacks of images they gathered for this production.

This research fueled my conversations with Septime and allowed us to develop a very exciting color concept for the show. The First Act of the piece is all black, white and grey with the Second Act being realized in full color. This palette required some very careful fabric selection on my part. While shopping I needed to constantly retain the whole picture in my mind, to see the big canvas of the entire production and really pay attention to the range and proportion of my values. This kind of shopping takes a great deal of endurance but reaps large rewards for the final product.

Lastly I must acknowledge the incredible support I have received from my Assistant Designer Kelsey Hunt, my Costume Production Manager Jennifer Dasher, and the talented shops we have collaborated with. A work of this scale requires constant and thorough communication ¬--collaboration is the core of what we do and I could not have achieved without them.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS TO HEMINGWAY: THE SUN ALSO RISES

If the shoe fits!

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:19:00 GMT

Hello TWB Family,

I invite you to join me and the Company dancers on an enchanting journey to experience the world’s most beloved fairy tale, Cinderella. Returning to the concert stage for the first time since 2008, the production opens with a preview on March 20 and runs March 21 through 24, 2013 at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Eisenhower Theater.

Set to Sergei Prokofiev’s impassioned score, this romantic full-length production is complete with lush costumes by Judanna Lynn and dazzling choreography. The popular story of the poor girl whose fairy godmother helps her win the love of a prince is retold with warmth and wit. series of giant clocks serves as the backdrop during the climactic stroke of twelve. With them, set designer James Kronzer brings the anticipation of midnight to life on stage.

In creating this ballet, I was most influenced by the founding choreographer of the Royal Ballet, Sir Frederick Ashton. The famous stepsisters, like in Sir Frederick’s production, are cast as men, adding a bit of riotous humor to the evil pair. A fusion of clever characters, lavish costumes and fantastical sets create a imaginary journey in this beautiful, romantic and occasionally comical kingdom. So, if the shoe fits, wear it -- because Cinderella will sweep you off your feet.

Join TWB for the 2013.2014 Season: SOARING!

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 20:44:00 GMT

SOARING! That is what TWB’s dancers and patrons alike will be doing next season – soaring to the beauty of dance, flying high with the excitement of the season, and spiraling emotionally at the Ballet’s performances.

We’ve just announced the 2013.14 season and as excited as I am about our upcoming premiere of Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises and the fairy-tale magic of Cinderella, I’m thrilled by the depth, breadth and talent of our dancers and offerings. The new season is balanced with beloved and challenging classics and cutting-edge contemporary works.

We will open with one of my all-time favorite ballets, Giselle. I believe Maki and Brooklyn will be awe-inspiring in their interpretations of Giselle and Albrecht. We will also premiere a stunning NEW production of everyone’s favorite “boy who wouldn’t grow up” Peter Pan and will showcase our dancers in one of Balanchine’s most challenging works, Themes and Variations.

Did I mention contemporary? American music aficionados will be thrilled with The Jazz/Blues Project with Val Caniparoli’s Birds’ Nest performed to the jazz-licks of Charlie “Bird” Parker and Trey McIntyre’s Blue Until June which resonates to the music of Etta James brought resoundingly to life by DC’s own E. Faye Butler. We will also have a couple of world premieres, including one by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, whose Sueño de Marmol thrilled audiences last season during Noche Latina.

The Ballet will also be invaded by those “bad-boys” of Rock n’ Roll during British Invasion: The Beatles & The Stones. You’ll be dancing in your seats, or maybe in the aisles, during Trey McIntyre’s A Day in the Life and Christopher Bruce’s Rooster.

CLICK HERE for the entire season’s offerings. I hope you will join me in the theater for another season in which our dancers will excel and one that shows off their precision, athleticism and sheer beauty.

Love, Babes and Ballet

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:50:00 GMT

Hello TWB Family,

I hope the New Year is bringing you much joy and, most of all, excited anticipation for our upcoming production L’Amour (love, baby…). The company artists are enthusiastic about performing these new works about the many aspects of love, especially the vibrantly expressive world premiere of Amy Seiwert’s Under Covers. With that in mind, I’ve invited Amy to write a guest blog about her creative process and motivation behind the construction of Under Covers.

Amy Seiwert on Under Covers

When Septime approached me about doing a new work, he expressed it would be part of the L'Amour program and encouraged me to explore the theme of love. Fortunately, I was getting married in less than a month, so love was on my mind. As an (ahem) older bride, I'd been reflecting on some of my past relationships. It's been said you never love the same way twice. Some rich and satisfying relationships don't last forever, and some of us aren't ready to find our partners right out of college. My past and future were both on my mind when I started researching music for this piece.

So I turned to love songs. But it seemed a little obvious to me, so I was hesitant. In the car one night, Nirvana's cover of David Bowie's Man Who Sold the World came on the radio. I know, not a love song, but I realized I have a true love of cover songs. Often in our collective consciousness we have one association with a song - and when that interpretation is different, it can make us hear different aspects of the music in new ways. A cover song offers both an immediate access point and a challenge at hearing it fresh. A listener is both nostalgic for the past association and surprised by the new interpretation. These two seemingly conflicting responses are interesting to me.

To read more about the artist CLICK HERE

Editor’s Note – See how Ms. Seiwert incorporates her love of cover songs, especially ones about romance, in her upcoming work, Under Covers, opening as part of L’Amour (love, baby…) at the Harman Center on that special day of love, Valentine’s Day on February 14, 2013

CLICK HERE to purchase tickets to L’Amour (love, baby…)

Bringing in Holiday Cheer!!!

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:35:00 GMT

Hello TWB Family,

The Washington Ballet hit the ground running in October with an unprecedented two-week run of a wildly theatrical and breathtaking premiere of Michael Pink’s Dracula. TWB dancers, audiences and critics sank their teeth into one of the most paramount productions of the season and were thrilled with its story of passion, seduction, transformation and sacrifice, as well as the stunning and sensuous dancing. If you missed the show, you definitely missed a treat; however, you can always check out performance highlights below and production photos HERE.

Although Dracula kept us all busy, we are already diving-into the holiday season with The Nutcracker. The dancers, along with several hundred talented (and adorable) students from The Washington School of Ballet have been working fearlessly around the clock to bring you DC’s most acclaimed holiday ballet.

Filled with magic and marvels, TWB performs The Nutcracker like none other! Traveling back in time to historic 1882 Georgetown, the production stars our old friend, George Washington, as the Nutcracker. Keep the your holiday spirit alive and join us on this wild romp through historic DC. Performed to Tchaikovsky’s beloved score, paired with magnificent costumes and landscapes, the historic Warner Theatre is brought to life with waltzing cherry blossoms, dancing sugar plums, wild Indians and other enchanting adaptations in this audience favorite. So don’t hesitate to spread holiday cheer and purchase your (or gift ) tickets NOW! (for more information on nutcracker tickets click here)

Spread Holiday Cheer!

A Night To Remember

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:22:00 GMT

From dance clothes to the dance floor The Washington Ballet certainly dressed to impress in their finest, scariest, yet chic, attire to kick off the season at the Dracula Soirée last Friday at The National Museum of Women in the Arts.

The Soirée was a remarkable and exhilarating event to celebrate the Ballet’s unprecedented two-week run of Dracula The Kennedy Center (October 24-November 4). Set in the Dracula’s castle, the classic Museum was transformed by Syzygy Events into a macabre vampire lair. The Ballet welcomed over 500 friends and patrons, most of whom were in lavish costumes to enjoy themselves into the wee hours. Guests were more than delighted to sink their teeth into the five-star cuisine provided by Occasions Caterers, sip special libations created by Boxwood Winery and Paul’s Wine and Spirits and strut their stuff as they grooved on the dance floor to the fine sounds of the renown DJ EZ Groove (Eric Sudol).

Artists from The Studio Company elegantly performed excerpts from Trey McIntyre’s Blue Until June. Auctioneers Tommy McFly and Kelly Collis from FRESH FM, worked bidders into a frenzy with some exclusive item offers in a live auction and guest poured over the delectable silent auction.

I want to give a BIG THANKS to The Women’s Committee and Jeté Society for creating such a wonderful event to kick off the season. The party was a graveyard SMASH!! I (and everyone at the Soirée) appreciated your hard work. Furthermore, you all looked fabulous.

Photo Credits (From Top Left to Bottom Right): Melih Mertel,Morgann Rose, Aurora Dickie, Laura Chachich, Morgann Rose, Robert Mulvey, Hyun-Woong Kim, Ayano Kimura, Ji Young Chae, Fernanda Oliveira, Denis Malinkine, Daniel Roberge, Sona Kharatian, Nicole Haskins.

TWB Dancers sink their teeth into Dracula!

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:39:00 GMT

Hello TWB Family and Friends!

TWB dancers are taking a bite out of ballet as we prepare to seduce your senses with the company premiere of Dracula!

This week, the Ballet has the pleasure of welcoming repetiteur, Denis Malinkine into the studios to kick off rehearsals for Michael Pink’s most popular and most successful ballet, Dracula. Crafted in Europe, this production has been performed throughout Great Britain, New Zealand and by only three other companies in the United States. Choreographed in a British narrative style following in the footsteps of Fred Ashton and Kenneth McMillan, Pink brings to life Bram Stoker’s Dracula in a fresh interpretation Involving a deep dark atmosphere fashioned by Philip Feeney’s original score, Lez Brotherson’s massive scenery and meaty roles, the TWB dancers will sink their teeth into one of the most paramount productions of our season. The Washington Ballet is thrilled to be bringing this breathtaking story of passion, seduction, transformation and sacrifice to the Kennedy Center stage with Dracula danced by Jared Nelson and new company member Hyung-Woong Kim.

Interesting in learning even more this “ballet with a bite?” I invite you to explore the seductively fascinating production in a special inthewings session on Monday October 15 at 6:30PM in the intimate England Studio. You will have an exclusive opportunity to take a “bite” with a special behind the scenes journey to Transylvania, learn more about Bram Stoker’s literary phenomenon and how Michael Pink brought such a memorable work life. The session will feature an interactive discussion with choreographer Michael Pink and the creative team behind the recreation of Dracula. You will also have an opportunity to meet and be seduced by our TWB dancers. So don’t miss on this exclusive opportunity. CLICK HERE to reserve your tickets!

Also, if you have you have not already snagged your tickets to The Dracula Soirée, I highly recommend you do! This event takes place next Friday October 5 at the beautiful National Museum of Women in the Arts. It is a highlight of Washington’s fall social season and attracts many influential dignitaries and arts patrons. You’ll be treated to cocktails, a buffet supper, live and silent auctions, and performances by your favorite ballet company – The Washington Ballet. It is the perfect way to begin the season and get into the Dracula spirit. Learn more about the Sponsorship Levels and event tickets HERE!

To learn more about the other events visit TWB’s HERE.

Prepare to become another victim of Dracula in a romance of the darkest order!

Back in Action

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 20:08:00 GMT

Hello TWB friends

The Washington Ballet corridors are not so quiet anymore as we hit the ground running to SEDUCE your senses this season with enthralling dance!

First, we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming new company members for the 2012.2013 Season. I hope you will join me in welcoming our newest Company members: Kateryna Derechyna, formerly of the Grand Rapids Ballet Company; Caroline Diane, formerly of the San Francisco Ballet; Nicole Haskins, formerly of The Sacramento Ballet; Hyun-Woong Kim, formerly of the Korea National Ballet Company; and Melih Mertel, formerly of Istanbul State Opera and Ballet, who begin their first season as TWB Company members. Ms. Derechyna, Diane and Haskins and Mr. Kim and Mertel join resident Ccompany members Kara Cooper, Aurora Dickie, Emily Ellis, Zachary Hackstock, Jonathan Jordan, Sona Kharatian, Tamás Krizsa, Corey Landolt, Brooklyn Mack, Andile Ndlovu, Jared Nelson, Maki Onuki, Morgann Rose and Luis R. Torres. Each of these artists brings with them added energy and excitement and have already dedicated countless hours in the studio conditioning and rehearsing in preparation to seduce your senses this season.

Speaking of excitement and energy, it’s a delight to have The Washington School of Ballet back in session. The studios are filled with young artists eager to train and develop their movement and performing skills. From Creative Movement to Professional Training Program students, the amount of focus and enthusiasm for ballet technique and conditioning grows with each class. Along with our TWSB classes, Adult Classes are now in session and open to anyone interested in beginning or advancing their movement technique.

The Ballet has been extremely active all over the District as we are gear up for several memorable events.. Beginning with Subscriber Open Rehearsals, Jeté Society’s BeerBubblyandBallet, inthewings: Ballet with a Bite, The Dracula Soirée and then unto an unprecedented two-week run of Dracula at The Kennedy Center there are many ways to celebrate the new season. I highly recommend The Dracula Soirée, (October 5 at the beautiful National Museum of Women in the Arts. It is a highlight of Washington’s fall social season and attracts many influential dignitaries and arts patrons. You’ll be treated to cocktails, a buffet supper, live and silent auctions, and performances by your favorite ballet, The Washington Ballet. It is the perfect way to begin the season and get into the Dracula spirit. Learn more about the Sponsorship Levels and event tickets HERE! To learn more about the other events visit TWB’s website HERE.

Remember to take advantage of some exclusive subscription and single ticket offers while seats remain.There are so many things going on and I, with much allegiance, invite you to be a part of the TWB family.

Aloha Alice!

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 20:53:00 GMT

Aloha TWB Family!

A few TWB Company members (Sona Kharatian, Maki Onuki, Jonathan Jordan, Brooklyn Mack and Jared Nelson) and I hopped across the Pacific to the beautiful island of Hawaii to reprise the company’s wildly successful production of ALICE (in wonderland) and share the artistry and performance experiences that kept DC audiences on the edges of their seats last spring. Now, I’d love getting warm sand between my toes, splashing in the crystal clear water and taking on the cultural perspective of this island, but unfortunately during this visit there will be very little Septime time as the duty of ballet calls/

Following the success of ALICE, word has travelled faster than the White Rabbit throughout the ballet world. “It is going to be a wild ride” as The Washington Ballet combines forces with Ballet Hawaii in premiering this unforgettable journey down the “rabbit hole" this weekend at the Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu.

It has been quite an experience setting ALICE with the Ballet Hawaii Summer Intensive artists, who have been wonderfully excited and dedicated in recreating, through glorious movement, the classic tale by Lewis Carroll. These young artists will share the stage with our very own company members, who reprise their roles in Alice’s magical adventure.

It is always a great pleasure to share the artistry and the culture of ballet with young artists, but the reward is greatest when collaborations like ALICE (in wonderland) can be shared with all. Of course, I invite all of you in Hawaii to share in this experience (August 11 at 7:00pm & August 12 at 2:00pm). Mahalo!

Summer IN(tensive), Summer Out

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 16:05:00 GMT

Hello TWB Family,

Well, the 2012 Summer Intensive has come to an end! This summer The Washington School of Ballet invited 150 of the most talented students from around the world to participate in the company’s acclaimed summer program to perform at the peak of their abilities. For several intense weeks, all of TWSB studios were packed with dedicated students dancing countless sweat pouring hours and focus to become some of the best young artists of their generation.

Last week, the 2012 Summer Intensive Program concluded with several performances of pieces created by TWB’s amazing faculty. A personal favorite was Edwin Aparicio’s “Tangos” which was a Flamenco piece choreographed specifically for our students and set to traditional Spanish sounds of Concha Buika. Ranging from ballet to modern dance, the students displayed not only their extensive skills from training, but their eclecticism and passion for diverse movement. I truly admire their dedication to the art of movement and wish each student the best with hopes of seeing them return in the future.

Though, the Summer Intensive students are the highlight of the summer, we cannot forget those who have spent countless hours making the 2012 Summer Intensive operate with great ease. I would like to thank TWSB’s amazing faculty and guest instructors, accompanists and chaperones for dedicating their summer to dance by teaching and serving as role models for our students and the parents for being a great support system. Lastly, a special extension of gratitude goes to the TWSB Administrative Staff for all of their efforts and time in making sure these students are received and accounted for while away from home.

Although our corridors are currently pretty quiet, The Washington Ballet is ecstatic to hit the ground running as we prepare to SEDUCE audiences’ senses from the stage next season with movements performed by familiar and new Company members.

Speak with you all soon!

Always In Action!

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 16:54:00 GMT

Hello TWB Family,

I always thought that “running with the bulls” would be the ultimate adventure. Well, this summer I didn’t exactly run with the bulls, but I did have an opportunity to experience a traditional bull fight in Pamplona, Spain during my travels to research our exciting world premiere of Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises. Although traveling is great experience it is great to be back in DC and to be surrounded by my favorite things --ballet and a passion for movement.

These past few weeks I’ve been on a crash course to prepare for Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises, experiencing the world as if I were Ernest Hemingway to create movements for his many and varied classic tales in the novel. Aside from experiencing the culture and the almost “running with the bulls” in Pamplona, Spain, I took time to re-read and gather inspiration from two other Hemingway timeless novels, A Moveable Feast and From Whom The Bell Tolls. My plans are not to only create a ballet based on The Sun Also Rises, but one that parallels Hemingway’s dynamic life.

Although the last three weeks have been quite an adventure, traveling not only to Pamplona, Spain but also Mykonos, Greece and Madrid in my quest for research, I’ve hit the ground running since returning, meeting with TWB’s artistic team and teaching some of the brightest young artists in our Summer Intensive program. While, I truly love the creative process and running the show, it is always a pleasure to work with some of the best young dancers from around the globe.

Until Next Time!!

Dancing Above The Influence: Movement with a Purpose

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 17:46:00 GMT

Hello TWB family,

The Washington Ballet, The Washington School of Ballet and TWB @ THEARC are taking over The District on and off the concert stage.. Often when we praise the Ballet, we are talking about the performance ability of our amazing artists. But, one of TWB’s vital goals is “to serve and involve the entire community.” And I can happily say that through our extensive training, education and engagement programs the Ballet is fully committed to exciting, extending and enriching thousands in the greater DC Metro area.

One of our most prized community engagement efforts began in 2005, when TWB partnered with other community organizations to open the Town Hall Education, Arts and Recreation Campus (THEARC) in Ward 8. THEARC, a joint-use facility that delivers first-rate cultural, health recreation and human development programs and services to residents east of the Anacostia River, has unlocked the power of dance to thousands of residents and serves as a second campus for The Washington School of Ballet. It has been especially rewarding to see the positive impact of TWB @ THEARC’s extensive community engagement programs have made on residents throughout the area.

Recently TWB @ THEARC teamed up with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’s “Above the Influence (ATI)” campaign to bring ATI’s newest youth activity-“Express It”-to life. TWB @ THEARC Summer Intensive students have been putting in tremendous hours of work into creating new dance pieces titled “Be Seen, Be Heard, and Be You.”

Friends, I invite you to a FREE performance at THEARC on July 20, 2012 at 1PM when TWB @ THEARC’s Summer Intensive students will perform “Being Seen, Being Heard, and Being You.” The program will also feature the world premiere of a behind-the-scenes video documenting TWB @THEARC students’ journey of creating their Above the Influence “Express It” dance from conception to completion. THEARC Theater is located at 1901 Mississippi Avenue SE, WDC.

Check out the photos below of TWB @ THEARC Summer Intensive’s amazing and hardworking students as they “Express It” in their ATI dance piece.

For more information on the “Above the Influence” campaign, please visit: http://abovetheinfluence.com/

Western Movement, Meet Eastern Movement!

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 16:03:00 GMT

Hello There TWB Family,

So I have been extremely busy these past few days that sometimes it is hard to keep up with everything! Can you believe that I have taken some time to experience the dance world in Istanbul? And man it is amazing; I don’t even know where to start. But I will say we are bringing back a treat from Turkey that I know you all will love!

First, while in Istanbul, not Constantinople, our very own Brooklyn Mack displayed his amazing talents on the concert stage and earned the title of “Grand Prix” in the Istanbul International Ballet Festival. I can personally say that it is certainly a pleasure to show the world the talent that The Washington Ballet has to offer. Furthermore, Brooklyn has proven is to be an integral component to the TWB family with his eye catching strong and passionate movements across the concert stage. For that I would like to extend a warm thank you for his dedication and a thank you to the TWB for the numerous amounts of support.

While out at and about, I had the chance to catch up with an old ballet friend, the great Vladimir Malakhov, who is recognized worldwide as one of the greatest dancers of his generation. Mr. Malakhov is truly an accomplished performing artist with numerous awards with first prizes from international competitions for his technical brilliance and lyrical eloquence. Vladimir was a judge in the Istanbul International Ballet Festival, and below is a photo of him, Brooklyn and me backstage.

And last, but not least! Do you guys remember that treat I was bringing back from Turkey, well his name is Melih Mertel and he will be joining the The Washington Ballet Company in the upcoming season. Melih is excited to join the company and I know that you guys are super excited for him to show you what Turkey has to offer. So if you have not subscribed to the season that is certain to SEDUCE your senses, don’t be late. I promise you will not want to miss Melih and some other additions to The Washington Ballet family.

Talk to you all soon!

ICYHOT...An INTENSIVE Summer!!

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Hey there TWB family,

The start of this week at the ballet has not been like that of the past few weeks. Can I tell you, that The Washington Ballet home has been more alive than ever since we’ve unlocked the doors this morning. On today we opened the doors of the building to some of the most talented ballet dancers out there to attend our 2012 Summer Intensive Program. And they have taken over this place, and already called home!

Today, these students brought the heat and the sweet aroma of icyhot! Bright and excited to learn and grow as young dancers, these students have already starting connecting and building that dance family bond as they stretched and calmed each other nerves going into the placement class. Although, they were all nervous to their ankles, they all were amazing as they showed exactly why we’ve selected them to join us this summer. From relevé to whipping pirouette turns, these bright young ladies and gentlemen bring not only the talent but the passion and drive to pursue their dreams of gracing the concert hall stage as a professional.

Just as excited as the students The Washington School of Ballet staff is beyond excited to welcome these students, as they lead these students in instruction in ballet and a little sprinkle of creative movement classes. And man do we have some of the best instructors in the DMV. In fact, the instructors had a pretty “intense” job today as they sat on the panel reacquainting with all of the students as they placed them into their levels for the summer. More importantly, these teachers are dedicated to guiding and pushing these students to the max and they help them develop into even better dancers in the coming weeks.

Stay in tune for what we have in store with this talented bunch of students, because they are going to put on the floor soon with their Summer Intensive performances in the coming weeks.

The Boston Round!

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 20:10:00 GMT

Hey TWB Family,

Man can I say that I am so proud of the amazing talent that we have here at The Washington Ballet. We have peaks of artistic potential from some of our very own TWB company dancers to those training in our Professional Training Program.

So this weekend a few of the ballet dancers and I traveled to Boston, MA for the Third Round of the Boston International Ballet Competition. It was a pleasure to see some of the ballet world’s greatest talents from across the globe. However, it is even better when your very own members of the TWB family dance to the brink to bring home the gold!

Our very own Brooklyn Mack brought home the Senior Gold Medal for his very powerful and eclectic performance of his “Actaeon” variation. In some of the talent to look out for, our Professional Training Program Student, Albert Gordon, took the Junior Gold Medal in his variation from the pantomime ballet “Satanella.”

Wait there is more, Brooklyn and Aurora Dickie both stunned the judges with their works and received citations for the best interpretation of compulsory contemporary variation. And last but not least, Adile Ndlovu performed at the Ballet International Ballet Competition Gala as a special guest Choreographer featuring the showcased winners from the competition and other alumni.

I am proud to say, it is always great to see how ballet has a tremendous impact and can be shared and adored across the globe. It is even more of a pleasure to see the talent and creativity from those of the TWB Family!

Remember to keep on the look out for what our new season, SEDUCTION, has in store!

The Checklist

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 14:06:00 GMT

Hello there TWB Family,

Can I tell you that the world of ballet does not end! There is always time to create and there is always a brand new adventure within the walls of the The Washington Ballet. I cannot let you in on all of the secrets that will be a very SEDUCTIVE 2012.2013 Season, but I will let you know that all of us here are working hard to prepare you all to be pulled to the edges of your seats.

So here are a few updates. I hope you have a pen and paper because I have A LOT of information to share with you!

First, if you have not purchased a subscription for the 2012.2013 Season SEDUCTION, you should, because those seats are going fast. Subscriptions are available online or you can give us a call at the ballet administrative offices (202.362.3606 x605). Also, before it slips my mind I would like to extend the exclusive offer to on sight seating in our NEW SUNDAY EVENING Series. Yes, you now have the chance to get the best seats in the house per whatever your desire to enjoy timeless movement of our fascinating company dancers.

Next, you do not want to miss the amazing production The Washington Ballet is doing in collaboration with Imagination Stage, The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. Our dancers have been working with much fervor to give a production that families and friends of all ages will enjoy. Tickets for this production are on sale NOW through Imagination Stage (301.280.1660 or imaginationstage.org).

One more thing! Mark your calendars for one of our Annual Events that I know you will be dying to sink your teeth into. It is our 2012 Dracula Soiree that is to be held Friday, October 5, 2012 at The National Museum of Women in the Arts. Get your tickets, before it's too late

And as always keep up with us in Septime's Salon, because I have some updates coming some of your favorite and very fabulous dancers from The Washington Ballet!!!!!

-Septime

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:22:00 GMT

Hello there TWB Family,

We’ve had one fascinating year here at The Washington Ballet, and I would like to give a special thanks to all of those that were involved in making our 2011.2012 SPELLBOUND Season a tremendous Success. This season wouldn’t have been anything short of amazing without the wonderful company dancers, dedicated artistic and administration staff and most of all our loyal fans that we also call our family!

Wednesday night we had a great time taking a look back at the success of the season and looking forward to what we hope to be the success of our 2012.2013 SEDUCTION Season in our Annual Board meeting, special performance of excerpts from The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe and after party. Of course, I will not bore you with all of the ins and outs of the meeting, but I will tell you that this last season was certainly a treat.

We began our season with the return of the critically acclaimed audience favorite, The Great Gatsby, which reverberates with the exuberance of the Roaring Twenties’ jazz age. Following The Great Gatsby we celebrated our 50th anniversary of The Nutcracker, and opened in the New Year with paying tribute to America’s high priestess of dance with masterworks that displayed the breathtaking diversity in Twyla Tharp: All American. The spring bloomed with an adventure down the rabbit hole with the world premiere of ALICE (in wonderland) and closed the season with the sizzling hot celebration of Latin music and movement with Noche Latina!

We hope you certainly had a fantastical journey, with these irresistible productions and mesmerizing dance. Remember to subscribe to our 2012.2013 SEDUCTION Season. Believe me; you will not want to miss a minute of what we have in store.

Can You Imagine...?

Thu, 31 May 2012 17:10:00 GMT

Hello there TWB Family

I just wanted to drop in and share few secrets from behind the scenes on what has been going on with the Ballet since our amazing Once Upon A Time show a few weeks ago! Well, our next adventure we are taking you on a fantasy. A world full of imagination, with our next performance.

This week we began our magical collaboration with Imagination Stage on the production The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. Told through a dazzling fusion of dance, acting, and puppetry, our story begins when Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter are sent off to the countryside to avoid the Blitz. Lucy discovers a magical wardrobe that leads them into the fantastical world of Narnia. The four siblings become embroiled in an epic battle between the White Witch and the great lion Aslan. It's an epic adventure with terrible betrayals, great battles, heroic deeds, and noble kings and queens! And if you enjoyed our trip "down the rabbit hole" with ALICE (in wonderland), then we have a treat for you with this adventure. You have another chance to experience a combination of the arts as we bring back Matthew Pierce's musical genius and the creator of our "friendly jabberwockey" Eric can Wyk.

Please be my special guest and take a journey behind the scenes and come inside the room during our production meetings as we piece together a fantasy adventure for all. CLICK HERE TO START!

Flexing and Flowing

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:14:00 GMT

Hey there TWB family!

Now that our Spellbound season has wrapped up, I have some time to talk about some of the fascinating things I've been doing alongside the upbeat and fast-paced season! So as you all may, or may not, know last year I had to have surgery on the rotator cuff in my shoulder. However, I did not for any moment let that hold me back from getting my flex and flow on...

For the last year, I have taken a significant amount of time to not only meditate and get in tune mentally, but to also keep it together physically. It isn't easy keeping up with the amazing TWB dancers' high energy and stamina when creating athletic pieces like ALICE (in wonderland). So, I built a weekly routine of yoga training classes five times a week with the amazing Gail Harris at Flow Yoga Center right here in DC.

Trust me, these are the kind of classes you do not want to pass on. She is one incredible instructor, with her special way of connecting and challenging she truly makes taking Ashtanga Yoga classes. Really! Within the last year of being totally disabled due to shoulder surgery, I am up and doing some pretty advanced yoga poses, like the "side crow." I also now have, super awesome flexibility. When I am not taking formal classes, I usually take time at least twice out of the week, either in my living room or if it is a beautiful DC day on my patio, to train to continue to build and preserve my strength. There are many ballets this body has to produce!

Can You Imagine? I can, so check me out next week in Septime's Salon. In the meantime check out what I can do...

And You Thought We Were Done...

Mon, 21 May 2012 20:55:00 GMT

We hope you were SPELLBOUND by our 2011.2012 Season with The Washington Ballet's outstanding dances. If you missed this season, then you certainly missed a treat of irresistible productions and mesmerizing dance.

The Washington Ballet opened our SPELLBOUND season with the return of the critically acclaimed audience favorite, The Great Gatsby, which reverberated with the exuberance of the Roaring Twenties' jazz age. Paying tribute to America's high priestess of dance, Twyla Tharp, our outstanding dancers performed three masterworks that display the breathtaking diversity of this legendary choreographer's vision in Twyla Tharp: All American. Following our tribute to Twyla, we pulled audiences to the edges of the their seats with an extraordinary trip down the rabbit hole with the world premiere of ALICE (in wonderland). And to end the season with sizzling flavor, a fresh celebration of Latin American music and dance with Noche Latina!

We are so fortunate that you were able to join us this season! Feel free to experience the magic all over again by visiting our photo and video galleries!

Not so fast, I'm not done yet...!

There are still some amazing things going on with The Washington Ballet Family!

Coming up this week: The Washington School of Ballet showcases some of the best and brightest emerging talent with the 2012 Spring Performances. Learn more about scheduling and ticket prices HERE

I hope you thoroughly enjoyed the season, and will keep in touch as we prepare for our upcoming 2012.2013 Season: SEDUCTION. Remember it is not too late to "SEDUCE The Senses."

It's not too late to, SEDUCE the Senses!

Wed, 16 May 2012 19:53:00 GMT

It still isn't too late to join me for The Washington Ballet’s 2012.13 Season, SEDUCTION. You have until MAY 25th to be a part of our inspiring upcoming season and celebration by renewing your subscription. Like the Sirens of yore, we are deliberately setting out to tempt you with the most sensuous, sublime and provocative dance in a mix of the new, the recent, the unfamiliar and the classic. Our season expands to five subscription programs accented by explorations into classical literature with the world premieres of Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises and David Palmer’s Dangerous Liaison and the company premiere of Michael Pink’s Dracula.

Believe me, this is one season you won't want to miss!Filled with enticing journeys, irresistible productions and enthralling dance-subscription renewal today ensures that you will have the best seats in the theater for what promises to be a seduction of the senses.

I look forward to seeing you at the Ballet.

Ballet, Totó, and Samba, Oh My!

Thu, 10 May 2012 19:54:00 GMT

I think we have a hit on our hands. Standing ovation tonight was immediate following the preview performance of ¡Noche Latina!. I just dropped off two giddy choreographers (Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Eddie Liang) and a giddy costume designer (Aviad Arik Herman) at their respective apartments after a post-performance supper where we replayed the triumph scored by the artists on stage tonight. Dancers were in fine form. It’s amazing how all the works gelled in such a short amount of time. It’s really quite unbelievable we had 3 short weeks after wonderful ALICE to put all 3 premieres together. My head is still spinning.

Each section of ¡Noche Latina! was informed by a Latin passion and amplitude of movement. We’re thrilled to be collaborating with our colleagues: artist and world renowned Spanish sculptor, Cristóbal Gabarrón, whose breathtaking 100-piece sculpture dances on stage with performers during Eddie’s La Ofrenda, and a Colombian music superstar, Totó la Momposina, who sings an electrifying set between Annabelle and Trey’s pieces and just about blows the roof off of Eisenhower Theater. Man, Totó’s got a set of chops!

We open at 8pm tonight and I’ve got a great feeling of how dancers will connect with the audience. I know we’ll be body slamming everyone at the post-performance reception hosted by the Brazilian Ambassador tonight. And I can’t wait for Noche de Pasión tomorrow, a fantastic event hosted by the wonderful Mexican Ambassador and his wife, and organized by two of DC’s real Latina sparkplugs, Pilar O’Leary and Isabel Ernst.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation: Part II

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:13:00 GMT

Bodrum, Turkey
August 25, 2011
3:30PM

I’ve got an afternoon all to myself, sitting on some rocks overlooking the Aegean Sea in Bodrum. The Company is on tour here in Turkey, and our dress rehearsal ended at 12:30AM last night. David Palmer and I stayed back at the amphitheater at Bodrum Castle until close to 3:30AM working on getting the lighting just right for the presentation of our Rock & Roll program. Since it was such a late night, everyone has the day free; resting for tonight’s opening performance. The entire arena is sold out and we’ve already been asked back even before we’ve performed!

This tour is certainly going to be a rocking experience and I’m sure that Turkish audiences will relish the Rock & Roll program.

In addition to our posse of artists, production crew and artistic staff, a group of 30 friends of the ballet have accompanied us—I like to call them our own cheerleading squad—and I spent a couple of delightful days in Istanbul with them before we arrived in Bodrum. It is a magical place with so many layers of culture built upon each other—the juxtaposition of the ancient and the modern is astonishing and beautiful.

For now, I am sitting on rocks looking at the sea, anticipating a great show.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation: Part I

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:09:00 GMT

Rome, Italy
July 4, 2011
2:45AM

I am back at my hotel after a long, dizzying evening of judging the Premio di Roma: the Rome International Choreographer’s Competition. I’ve been in Rome for one week, judging an amazing array of contemporary choreography from around the world, performed in an idyllic outdoor amphitheater.

But there is nothing tranquil or calm about the Italians. They work hard and they party late. The companies perform from 9:30PM until midnight and then the judges meet to discuss the work til 2AM—but I don’t mind because the wine is flowing freely. And then it’s time to unwind—bedtime’s been coming around 4 in the morning.

Some of the amazing choreographers I’ve had the privilege of judging include two young Australian choreographers; a provocative Italian from Napoli, and a Korean post-Modernist. This trip has given me a chance to rekindle my love affair with the Pantheon and a lot of other historic sites in and around Rome—which is the second stop on a long trip that started last week in Amsterdam to see the Dutch National Ballet.

It was great to see Michele Jimenez in the Netherlands; I got to see her perform in David Dawson’s ravishing new work for Dutch National. After Rome, it’s onto Saint-Paul de Vence in the Côte d’Azur, Berlin, and Seoul, Korea.

Thank God for frequent flier miles!

Nutcracker Season

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

December 23, 2010
3:12 AM
The Nutcracker kicked in to gear the last weekend of September with auditions at THEARC and then in NW. A huge number of dancers auditioned and the year a record number 425 dancers are performing in Nutz over multiple casts. Thank heavens for Donna Glover and her army! We expanded the run to five weeks- Thanksgiving week at THE ARC and then four weeks at The Warner. As I type this (with my thumb on my phone!) we've of five more shows left. I've given the dancers the green light to do a "Nutty Nutcracker" on the last show. I'll miss that performance dammit-I'll be in Texas visiting my family and we'll all likely be swimming in mojitos by then. I just hope the dancers keep it clean. :-)

Christianne Campbell by Theo Kossenas

Maki Onuki and Jonathan Jordan by Theo Kossenas

Rui Huang and Jared Nelson by Theo Kossenas

With Soldiers and my godson Will backstage.

Vilkomen

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT

September 17, 2010
1:01 AM
It's great to welcome the amazing Monique Meunier (former Principal Dancer at NYCB and Soloist at ABT) as our new Ballet Mistress and Carlos Valcarcel (beloved faculty member with TWSB) as our Ballet Master of TWB's new Trainee Program. David Palmer and I welcome the help!

Carlos Valcarcel

Monique Meunier

And Back to Work

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT

September 12, 2010
11:11 PM
Back-to-work! Preparing Romeo + Juliet (fabulous roles for so many!) and welcoming Christopher Bruce who set his riveting Rooster on the company set to the music of the Rolling Stones which premieres in February.

Clowning around backstage at Romeo + Juliet

Hooliganism at its best!

John and Maki

Maki as a pre-Prozac harlot.

WHITE HOUSE!!

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT

September 7, 2010
1:23 AM
Today we performed excerpts of Twyla Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs for Mrs. Obama at the White House. What an amazing experience! We spent the day there and about 15 of our students took dance workshops and then watched the show. It honored retiring Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Artistic Director Judith Jamison and was directed by Damien Woetzel. Morgann Frederick and Jonathan Jordan knocked it out of the ball park. Our students from THEARC so impressed the White House staff they've invited back to perform Michael Jackson's Thriller as a surprise for the First Lady on Halloween and to tour the White House to see the holiday decorations! And pictures below.

John and Morgan rehearsing in the East Room

Our Kids after the workshop at the White House.

With Damien Woetzel and Heather Watts

Summer Wrap up

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

August 1, 2010.
12:31AM
Amazing summer travels judging international ballet competitions and visiting ballet folks all over the place. The itinerary included Amsterdam (dined with the stunning bride-to-be Michele Jimenez); Greece for yoga, beach, reading, and the thump-thump-thump of the techno beat on Super Paradise Beach; judging a competition in Istanbul with buddies Malakov, Bocca, et al; judging in Cape Town with Dirk and the gang just after the World Cup (Shakira's pop anthem was ubiquitous); judging at the grand daddy if them all in Varna, Bulgaria where I ate three shopska salads a day. It's nice to be home!

1) Me in Greece!
2) On the famous stage in Varna with Valentina Kozlova
3) The Cape of Good Hope. The end of the world.
4) The Jurors after a long night of judging
5) Visiting Cape town can be a hair-raising experience!
6) With Glamorous frenchie Elizabeth Patel
7) With Malakov and Bocca
8) Astonishing and Mythical Istanbul
9) Being bad with Italian Prima Ballerina Margherita Parilla
10) Los Angeles de Charlie with Viengsay
11) Me after yoga class
12) DANCE FOR ALL in a South African Township

Ballet Lovers Unite!

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Once again, I’m enjoying a cold Mexican beer as I relive another wonderful ballet event.

Last night we kicked off the 2010 DanceUSA Conference with a party that TWB co-hosted at House of Sweden. This afternoon, I hosted a panel of artistic directors that was also part of this conference. They came from all over the US, and spoke about building a vision for ballet. Among the directors were Tom Mossbrucker (Santa Fe Ballet), Dorothy Gunther Pugh. (Ballet Memphis), Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux (North Carolina Dance Theatre) and Marcello Angelini (Tulsa Ballet). Their conversation was witty, fascinating, and even sassy at times! It reminded me that artistic organizations are always striving to provide their audiences with a mirror that reflects them and their culture. There is so much great art being created nation-wide – Much of it is on display at Ballet Across America II, a festival now running at the Kennedy Center. Don’t miss it!
Cheers,
Septime

Welcome to the Family, Monique

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:00:00 GMT

After a year-long search and interviews with many qualified candidates, I’m thrilled to announce that Monique Meunier will join TWB as Ballet Master on August 23, 2010.

I have been a fan of Monique’s throughout her career at American Ballet Theatre (ABT) and New York City Ballet (NYCB). I especially remember her performances in Giselle at ABT and The Four Temperaments and Peter Martins’ staging of Swan Lake at NYCB. I look forward to having her on board and collaborating with her throughout the coming season. Please read on for more information on Monique Meunier.

Monique Meunier was born in Hollywood, CA. Her father is Cuban and mother is Ecuadorian. At the age of 15, she received a full scholarship to attend the School of American Ballet. Ms. Meunier was asked to join the New York City Ballet one year later. In 1997, she was promoted to soloist and reached the rank of principal dancer in 1998. There she performed numerous roles by Balanchine, Robbins, and Forsythe as well as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. In 2002, Ms. Meunier joined American Ballet Theater where she added the classics, Tudor, and Kylian to her repertoire. In 2007, she joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet under the direction of Dwight Rhoden. Ms. Meunier has staged Balanchine ballets for the Balanchine Trust and served as rehearsal director for Karole Armitage in 2009. She has also ventured into choreography and has premiered four works in 2009/2010 for Lake Placid and The Columbia Collaborative.

A Delicious End to the Season

Mon, 24 May 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Genius3 closed yesterday with a bang. As I write this, it still feels like I’m swimming in a bowl of mojitos…

I consumed quite a few last night at a party I hosted with TWB dancers, staff and board members. It was a great celebration of a watershed season. Genius3 was the final installment of a three-year project that highlighted works by acknowledged ballet masters of our time. This particular program featured Mark Morris’s lush and musical Pacific, Nacho Duato’s passionate Cor Perdut, George Balanchine’s modernist masterwork The Four Temperaments and Twyla Tharp’s witty and highly technical Push Comes to Shove. It was a fittingly rollicking end to a dynamic season that also included Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, WAM (wolfgang amadeus mozart), The Great Gatsby, Shoogie, the Tail of My Weiner Dog, and Bolero(+).Thank you for sharing it with us – I hope you have a wonderful summer, and to help you stay cool, I’m including my mojito recipe below…Cheers!
Septime

Septime’s Mojitos:
Fill a measuring cup to 75 ml with lime juice. Add sugar until it reaches 125 ml. and stir to melt the sugar. In a pitcher combine this with two cups of club soda and one cup of white (not dark!) rum. Muddle a heavy dose of mint leaves (I usually use about 1-15 leaves for this amount). Then add my secret ingredient: four dashes of angostura bitters. Serve over lots of ice. You’ll probably want to double the recipe as these go fast!

Next Up: Bolero

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:17:00 GMT

Preparing three contemporary works as different as the individuals who created them is a daunting task. Our upcoming Bolero(+) production features Nicolo Fonte's Bolero, Edwaard Liang's Wunderland and a world premiere by Karole Armitage. Karole started working on her piece right after New Years, and held her rehearsals opposite Gatsby rehearsals.

This "Punk Ballerina" gained fame in New York City in the 1980's, when she was tied to many star contemporary visual artists. I asked her to make a "beautiful" work for our company, which was actually more avant guarde for her, since she has always been such a provocateuse! She is teaming with The Washington National Opera's Domingo-Cafrtiz Young Artists, who'll be performing Brahms, and together, they've created an emotional and swirling work that is truly transporting. Armitage was so professional in her work with our dancers that I almost forgot her early days when she sported spiked hair, tutus with safety pins and combat boots.

Yesterday, the company started restaging Edwaard Liang's Wunderland, which was a hit with audiences last season. This work, set to mesmerizing music by Philip Glass, is propulsive and really engages all our dancers. Company members from last season all contributed in teaching this work to new dancers, and it was wonderful to watch them impart what Edi had taught them. (I mostly just tried to stay out of the way!) Nicolo is one of the most musical choreographers in the US. He cast Bolero in October and arrives on Monday to stage the piece. It's a physically explosive work -- like a 30 minute ballet packed into 21 minutes, and we're anxious to begin our work on it.

Interestingly, while the music on this program is diverse, there is the sense of a musical journey; from Brahms to Ravel to Glass. Ravel and Glass's music is hypnotic, with rich layers and repetition. Brahm's piece is emotional and humanistic. Altogether...They are dazzling.

Cheers,
Septime

Life After Gatsby

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:30:00 GMT

It’s been two and a half weeks since The Great Gatsby, and I’m still exhausted.

Letters and emails keep coming in from friends, family members and strangers alike, expressing much they liked the production. Many have ideas on how we might produce Gatsby for tour, in New York City or just again here in DC. The production was a “perfect storm,” created by a compelling story that was both challenging and accessible, Billy Novick’s knockout score, and our highly charged company of artists. From the performers on the stage to the musicians in the hydrolic pit including crooners Will Gartshore and E. Faye Butler, the electricity throughout The Great Gatsby was intense.

In making this ballet, I acknowledged something about myself that, in truth, I already knew: I am a storyteller. Ballet has its roots in storytelling, but after almost a century of modernism, for which the ballet vocabulary was in service of abstract work, it seemed appropriate to return to storytelling. The result was something interesting and surprisingly fresh.

This spring, however, we’ll present two modern programs, Bolero(+) and Genius3. As George Balanchine once quipped, “Sometimes the audience wants roast beef, and sometimes it wants pancakes.” Diversity in repertoire mirrors the surprise and serendipity we find in life, and makes us see the world differently. It seems that great things happen in threes – We found great success this season with Don Quixote, The Nutcracker and The Great Gatsby. Now it’s time to strip down the theatrical concerns, and present passionate, athletic and heart-stopping dance. We look forward to sharing it with you!

Cheers,
Septime

Great Gatsby Fill in the Blanks

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:19:00 GMT

TWB: The hardest part of creating The Great Gatsby was...
S. Webre: ...the fact that there was no existing musical score, which serves as a defacto libretto.

TWB: The part of Gatsby I am most proud of is...
S. Webre: ...the way in which the whole team of collaborators—dancers, artistic staff, administrative staff, designers, musicians, and especially composer Billy Novick and TWB Music Director Scott Speck were on the same wavelength throughout.

TWB: The best compliment I got from a patron was...
S. Webre:...after seeing the premiere, Washington Life’s Kevin Chaffee quipped “Septime, you really managed a lot of elements –you had everything but the elephant in there!”

TWB: I hate it when I hear...
S.Webre:...”I never read the book…”

TWB: I identify most with...
S. Webre: ...Nick Carraway....with a little Myrtle thrown in there.

TWB: The funniest part of this process was...
S. Webre: Making the sofa dance with its zany, Chaplinesque acrobatics!

TWB: If patrons walk away with anything from Gatsby, I hope it will be...
S. Webre: ...inspired by this compelling tale.

TWB: When Gatsby is all over, I will celebrate by...
S. Webre:...throwing back a few Mexican beers and having fun with friends.

Gatsby Untamed

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Last night was preview night, and it went so well. It’s amazing how far we’ve come in such a short time. It is a testament to our company of artists that they are able to present such a dazzling production despite what has been a very busy last couple of months.

The house was sold-out and the audience was great, exuding the energy and “good vibes” that our dancers needed to do their very best. I’ve no doubt the rest of our run will be just as successful, and I hope you won’t miss it. (Click here for tix!)

Then next week, we’ll announce our 2010.11 Season. Our theme is Untamed, and Gatsby is the perfect production to precede the announcement because that’s what it is…Untamed. It is filled with soulful, passionate and unrestrained artistry…And we’re promising more of the same. Subscribers, look for your renewal packets next week. All, check back here for updates and more information….Now, go Gatsby go!

Cheers,
Septime

Gatsby...Fully Dressed

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:00:00 GMT

3 PM:
It’s intermission during Gatsby dress rehearsal, and I’m relieved that things are going so much better today. Highlights include:

- The spine-tingling rapport evolving between Elizabeth Gaither and Jared Nelson.

- E. Faye Butler belting out Jazz Era tunes like a trumpet heralding in each scene. (Her raw technique is quite simply jaw-dropping.)

-Will Gartshore’s soulful interpretation of Nick Caraway…His chic vocal styling makes him sound like 1920’s radio host.

Now I’ve got to do a quick interview with The Washington Post. (Sports section writers are doing an interesting piece about my golf scene starring Jade Payette (Jordan Baker) and Jonathan Jordan (Nick Caraway) -- Look for it soon!)

Then...it’s on to Act II!

Cheers,
Septime

Gatsby Tech Rehearsal

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:00:00 GMT

11:30 PM: Today was tech day for The Great Gatsby…I almost shot myself.

Because this production is so complex (there are 21 “fly maneuvers” in Act I alone), the day was extremely long. We somehow got through it all –12 scenes, 160 light cues and about 40 songs, although it took us seven hours instead of six. Still, this was still a feat considering we encountered every conceivable problem known to man. Just a few examples:

- In one scene, it’s supposed to rain money. During rehearsal today, it poured money…and it wouldn’t stop. This sounds nice, except sadly, the money is fake…

- Our floral arrangements in Act I toppled over.

- The hydraulic pit malfunctioned.

- In Act I, Myrtle’s phone booth entered the stage instead of Daisy’s couch (Though it would have been interesting to see the four dancers attempt their couch dance in a phone booth…)

Eventually, we made it through the whole piece, and I have time for one cold Mexican beer before it’s time to turn in. I’ll be up early for an 8AM meeting, and there is no time to waste…Wish me luck!

Cheers,
Septime

1 Part Gatsby, 1 Part New Season, 2 Parts Snow...Mix Well and Enjoy.

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:22:00 GMT

Despite the threat of “snowpocalypse,” we are hard at work today on both 2010.2011 Season planning and creating Act II dances forThe Great Gatsby. This is not the first time I’ve found myself split between present and future, forgetting what year I’m currently in and wondering how it will all get done. Somehow, it always does.

We were in the office bright and early, looking over hundreds of photos from last week’s 10.11 season photo shoot. They are breathtaking, or rather I should say, our company artists are breathtaking. At first glance, almost every photo looks like a “winner,” but as we zoom in, examining each facial expression, foot, hand and muscle, we notice nuances that make some photos far superior to others. We also consider what photos will “sell” – which ones will work well for the brochure and how they can be modified for print ads. We barely got through 50 before I was called into another meeting and subsequent rehearsals. David Palmer and I will attempt to get through the rest, and then they’ll need to be approved by dancers before finally getting into the hands of Design Army (our brochure designer). Meanwhile, our marketing folks work on crafting copy for the brochure, and try desperately to keep me on schedule (not an easy task, as you can imagine!)

Gatsby continues to make progress every day (today’s highlights include Daisy and Gatsby’s frankly sexual pas in Act II, an hilarious maids dance, and a brutal duet between the tussling George and Myrtle). I’m looking forward to presenting some of the more finished parts at Monday’s inthewings (click here for more information), and the following week’s beerandballet and open rehearsal (click here for more information). The dancers breathe new life into old, familiar characters, and I can’t wait to see them perform alongside the musicians we have lined-up. I hope you’re planning on joining us for this special production… Click here to secure your seats now!

Cheers,
Septime

"Work-end"

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Friday, January 29
6PM: The Great Gatsby rehearsal day ends.

7:30PM – 11:45 PM: I find myself working at my dining room table, with the musical score from The Great Gatsby playing on my iTunes, and with two composition notebooks filled with notes on the production. Through the evening I work through preparing the entire Act 2 pas de deux between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan ---a duet that takes place during the middle of their torrid summer love affair. Eventually I danced the whole pas de deux in my dining room by myself – well, with my imaginary special friend...

Over four hours and four ice cold Red Stripes later.... I went to bed with my old and worn copy of The Great Gatsby novel in my hand, while attempting to edit the monologues Nick Caroway will perform onstage.

Saturday, January 30

10AM – 1PM: While snowed in, I prepared the staging for the cityscape scene; it’s a chaotic and raucous depiction of the streets of New York City during rush hour, including: a Priest, a Rabbi, a Lady with a Pram, a NY Yankee, Stockbrokers, a guy selling puppies, two Salvation Army ladies, a sailor, a tart, a millionaire a starlet....and a partridge in a pear tree.

1PM: I ventured out in the snow to Transformer for a 2PM artist talk with the collaborators on the Snow Globe project. Luckily, Transformer is next door to a Whole Foods, so I was able to stock up on more Red Stripes for later hours to come!

7 – 10PM: Worked on the Gatsby scene “Louisville Flashback” scene set to an amazing (and funny) World War I march from teens--James A. Brennan’s “We’re all going calling on the Kaiser.” The scene is about American soldiers being sent off to Germany. In this scene we see the story of how Daisy and Gatsby meet and fall in love. Gatsby goes off to war, and despite the love they share Daisy does not wait for Gatsby. She marries the wealthy playboy Tom Buchanan. Because “rich girls don’t marry poor boys.”

10PM and beyond: Time for a good gossip session on the phone with my sister in Austin, and a few Red Stripes for kicks.

Sunday, January 31

10AM – 2PM: While listening to Gospel music, I worked on the casting, synopsis, music set list and format for Gatsby’s Playbill. Our Public Relations Manager Alyssa Porambo is a hard ass when it comes to these things.

4–6PM: Attended the WPAS Men, Women, and Children of Gospel concert at the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall. I’m really interested in collaborating on a large project with them in the future (not for the 2010.2011 season though; but stay tuned for details on the upcoming season!)

7–9PM: I worked on finishing a Charlie Chaplain-esque sofa dance sequence featuring Nick Caroway, Jordan Baker, Daisy Buchanan, and Tom Buchanan.

9PM: I partook in the ultimate multi-tasking, flipping between a new episode of HBO’s Big Love and the Grammys while doing my part to help the economy by investing in Red Stripe Jamaican Breweries. My apologies to Negra Modelo.

Flashes of Light

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

8:45 PM:
Today we held our new season photo shoot, an event that it is always exciting, but a bit nerve-wracking too. We had a jam-packed schedule to stick to, and it’s easy to drift off course, especially when your company dancers are as photogenic as ours! Still we managed to get all the shots for the 2010.2011 season brochure (details to come) and some new shots for our upcoming spring programs, Bolero(+) (Click here for tickets and more information) and Genius3 (Click here for tickets and more information).

At this year’s shoot, we had the pleasure of working with Jill Turnbull, an amazing hair and makeup stylist who collaborated with us on our Wonderland book (Click here for more information). Jill generously offered her services at the shoot, adding edgy and fashionable hair and make-up to all the photos, as well as a sense of fantasy to the entire day.

From Jonathan Jordan’s “Buster Poindexter ducktail” (Note: I sported the exact same hairstyle circa 1985, with equally trendy shoulder pads…) to Luis Torres’s six-inch-tall mohawk and Morgann Frederick’s tipping tower of tresses, Jill’s wigs and hairstyles certainly added the “glam factor” to all our photos. Maki Onuki also rocked an intricate wig that looked like ribbon candy drizzled atop her head or a multi-layered torte that Marie Antoinette might have served to her ladies in waiting at high tea. (This was off-set by a sexy-as-hell leotard and matching jacket.) Still hundreds more shots were taken, and our photographer, Steve Vaccariello, and his crew moved from coffee to Coca Cola to Red Bull. Finally, as the last of the natural light shining through the studio windows faded to darkness, we closed up shop. Check out our photo and video galleries for more “behind-the-scenes” looks at our season photo shoot.

This shoot is far more than a fashion show, however. It highlights the season to come, and energizes our entire institution as we think about how we will each play a role in what’s to come. We look forward to sharing the season with you in the coming weeks. Don’t forget to check this blog for continuous updates, and join me at The Great Gatsby (Click here for tickets and information) where I’ll offer up a sneak peek of what’s to come here at TWB. Finally, mark your calendar for early March when we officially launch our 2010.2011 Season!

Cheers,
Septime

Photo Credit: Septime Webre and David Palmer with Studio Company member Ayano Kimura

Gatsby Rehearsal

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

10:20 PM:
It’s all Gatsby all the time. To date, I’ve roughed out about 10 of the 35 songs and the studios seem to be bristling with excitement about the project. I started this morning with a rehearsal for the big Charleston piece that opens Gatsby’s party in act 1. This number needs to capture the unbridled energy and optimism of the times. My goal was to create a contemporary dance with references to social dancing from the era and to tap into the wit and kookiness of Billy Novick’s orchestration of this famous song. The Charleston will involve all the members of the Company and Studio Company, although I began setting the dance on a small group in the company, led by Jade Payette and Luis Torres, who are willing and creative guinea pigs for some pretty wild and fast-paced dance moves. The day ended with a session creating a lush and sensitive duet for Daisy and Gatsby in Tom’s bungalow, which ends Act 1. I’m making the material on Jared Nelson and Elizabeth Gaither, with two other couples also creating the roles: Jon Jordan and Laura Urgelles; and Brooklyn Mack and Jade Payette. Jared’s one of the most able, creative, and attentive partner I’ve worked with and Elizabeth brings such extravagant beauty and dramatic context to each moment, and is game to follow his lead. They’ve partnered together for years and have developed so that the work proceeds swimmingly. I’m hoping to finish the pas de deux today.

Next up: tomorrow morning’s production meeting with Ed Cucurello to figure out how to make it rain dollar bills for three minutes over the entire stage!

WAM Premieres!

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

5:30 PM:
WAM! premiered last night. Whew! What started out as a small project, evolved into a wonderfully complex and layered two-hour journey through episodes in Mozart’s life. The music/dance/theatre piece is filled with comedy and also tender heart-wrenching moments. My hands-down favorite section however, happens to be a naughty one: I choreographed a dance for five men about farting on each other (a first for me!). I grew up in a family of eight brothers and my older brothers developed a sort of scatological lingua-franca. In our family there was a hierarchy of humor and good-natured fraternal jabs, with farts reigning supreme. As adults, we still howl with laughter at sophomoric potty humor. I took some glee in passing this sensibility onto the young men of Studio Company and the audiences were along for the ride!

Kidding aside, our collaborators at The In Series, and Carla Hubner in particular, make for spectacular artistic partners, and the show is enjoying an amazing success. So much so, that we’ve extended the run and added one additional show on February 7th at 3pm (lbuy tickets).

WAM!

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:22:00 GMT

Sunday, January 18 6:30 pm
Tomorrow we load into the Atlas Theater for a week of tech rehearsals for WAM! (wolfgang amadeus mozart), the new full-evening music/dance/theatre piece about Mozart’s life which Jared Nelson, David Palmer and I are collaborating on. It will feature our Studio Company and musical artists from The In Series. The music has been swell to work with, and Mozart is such a character, leaving so many amazing letters from which we draw naughty inspiration’ that I’ve been in stitches at every rehearsal. Some highlights:

Wolfie’s letter describing his own penchant for farting in public, followed by an hilarious farting danceby the odiferous men; a risqué game of spin-the-bottle which is described in one of Wolfie’s letters; a grand Esther Williams number as Wolfie crosses the English Channel on tour; Carriage rides, smooching scenes, duplicitous dealings with Salieri, and so forth…

It’s going to be one helluva ride!

CLICK HERE for tickets and more information.

Snow Globe Project

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:24:00 GMT

Saturday, January 16 11:45 pm

If you happened by Transformer on P between 14th and 15th Streets tonight between 6 and 7pm, you witnessed a scene of some considerable enchantment. Our Snow Globe Project was on display—Transformer’s storefront gallery space was transformed into a magical wintry snow globe by artists Zach Storm and Jessica Cebra, and for an hour, members of our Studio Company and Company apprentice Andile Ndlovu performed inside the space to a score by musical stylist and DJ Ed Rock. The audience viewed the snow globe from the street. Throughout the hour, the dancers slowly twirled inside the space as if in a music box, using gestural material we had developed together through movement assignments I had given them. Every 10 minutes the snow globe was “shaken”—and a brief full dance ensued. The project was the brain child of Transformer founder Victoria Reis, and the result was ravishing. A crowd started to gather around 5:30 and by 6 there were a couple of hundred people gathered on the sidewalk. There was an evocative atmosphere created by the dancers inside the gallery, and on the street a feeling of wonderment and glee. What a night!

Click here for some pictures.

Icarus Takes Flight

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:03:00 GMT

Thursday January 14 9:30 pm
I’ve been attending site-specific performances since I was in my early 20’s and saw a “happening” at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It was in the eighties and a postmodern choreographer had made a work which was influenced by the “happenings” of the late sixties. The work took place throughout the museum and the audience followed the dancers. It was provocative and engaging and felt so fresh. I have never produced any site specific work however. Tonight that changed. I worked with Company apprentice Andile Ndlovu and sculptor Barbara Liotta on “Icarus Takes Flight”—a solo for Andile in response to a new sculpture by Barbara commissioned by The Phillips Collection. Andile danced in the gallery around the sculpture to a Ravel score performed live by a cellist and violinist from the Washington National Opera. The audience stood on the periphery of the gallery and the effect was haunting. Andile’s expressive back and arms, his laser-like focus and packed a punch, and the music brought a unified sense between all elements.

We had two showings tonight—at 6:30 and at 7:30. I was thrilled by the first showing except in one way: One could not ignore other audience members in the space, and everyone looked so shlumpy, standing this way and that! So at the start of the second showing I spoke to the audience and gave them a primer on how to stand in sixth position with their abdominals engaged, and cross their arms just so. I created an ordered corps de ballet out of them. Their presence was much improved!

“Icarus Takes Flight” is the first of a series of three site specific works we’re doing over the next few weeks, including work at Transformer and the Smithsonian’s Museum of African Art. It’s nice to forge new ground.

Let the Wild Rumpus Start!

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

8:45 PM:
Today was the mother of all rehearsal days. The artistic team and I worked with about 390 dancers throughout the day putting The Nutcracker on stage for the first time. It was a wild and woolly day indeed. Donna Glover served as MC all day long, making for such a smooth day. The day’s events went something like this:

9:30-10:15 AM
We started early and Laurie Metzger and I worked with the Mice for 45 minutes—they were wonderfully enthusiastic.

10:15-11 AM:
The snow angels followed—what delightful girls—skimming the stage as if on gossamer wings. Their “peek-a-boo, I see you” phrase is a delight.

11:30-12:30 PM:
Part scene/Red Cast—this gang is really pulling together. I had to work on the sharpness of the marches, the lullaby, and little Matthew’s reaction to being kissed by two girls when he holds the mistletoe above his head.

12:30-1:30 PM:
Party scene/Gold cast—there are some real personalities here. Kennady, who plays the youngest girl, is amazingly precocious, as is Carter, as the littlest boy is quite the entertainer. (Last night he put on a block bowler had lying around the studio from Twyla Tharp’s Push Comes to Shove and kept us in stitches with his Bob Fosse routine.)

1:30-2:30 PM:
Party scene/Green cast—the mean green dancing machine. Getting that present-giving scene right is stressful, but they’re up for it!

2:30-4:30 PM:
The ballet scene, with Clara, Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross, The Nutcracker, the Rat King, 6 Red-Coat Rats, 12 soldiers and 3 Valley Forge bunnies. This is an amazingly complicated scene including oversized costumes, hard dancing for the rats, precise drills for the soldiers, two mounted equestrian soldiers, and a number of pyro effects. We have 4 casts in most roles; getting it all to work—to seem like chaos but be completely orderly as well—takes a huge effort...So far so good!

4:30-7:30 PM:
The opening of Act II (Bees, Mushies, Pages, Butterflies galore, Sugar Plum and Cavalier, Clara and Prince to spare!). Then we worked on the Chinese variation, the feisty Clowns, the brash Frontier Girls, and the massive finale involving most of the cast. It was a great day with dancers of multiple generations dancing together, mentoring each other, and learning from each other.That’s a swell holiday gift!

The Mozart Effect

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Today was a mostly Mozart day. In January, The Washington Ballet Studio Company is collaborating with DC-based musical organization the InSeries (our third collaboration in three years!) to produce WAM! (wolfgang amadeus mozart), an original full-evening dance/theater work staged by Associate Artistic Director David Palmer, dancer Jared Nelson, InSeries Founder/Director Carla Hubner, and myself. Carla, David and I had a 5-hour retreat immersing ourselves in Mozart’s music and his letters.

The scope of the piece is epic although its execution will be intimate. Essentially it will be the journey of his life: his musical prodigy as a child, his wild teen years filled with drinking, skirt-chasing, and flatulence (in fact we’re staging a section using a letter he wrote referring to his debauchery including the passing gas. We are referring to this section as Eine Kleine Fartmusik), meeting Constanze and her sister (with whom he was first smitten), Salieri, the loss of his Mother and then his Father, the creation of the great operas, etc. It’s quite dizzying to imagine the amazing outpouring of creativity in 35 short years. We accomplished a lot yesterday—agreeing on most of the music and the essential narrative arc. On Thursday Jared, David and I will divvy-up the work and assign sections to choreograph. WAM! will begin with a prologue—an extended solo of Studio Company member Jong Suk Park as Wolfgang set to Mozart’s intimate variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star—which I will choreograph. I’m also hoping to stage the farting dance—as a guy who grew up in a family with 8 brothers, I am well-versed in potty humor. There will be really glorious bits of music for David and Jared to sink their teeth into as well. The piece will be performed by 10 dancers, six singers and two pianists, and rehearsals begin next week. So let the flatulence begin!

These rehearsals come at the tail end of whopping rehearsal period for Don Q and in the middle of the staging of Twyla’s Push Comes to Shove which goes up in May, the creation of some sections of The Great Gatsby which goes up in February, and intense Nutcracker rehearsals. Talk about multi-tasking! We open January 23 at the Atlas Theater. Click here for info and tickets.

Opening Night!

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT

1:15 AM: I’ve just gotten home after our opening of Don Quixote. Wow, what an amazing night.

The company has never looked so good. After 30 years of watching ballet, I have never seen a ballerina balance the way that Viengsay did tonight...seriously. She was nothing short of astonishing, with her strong jumps and turns, easy rapport with her partner Jonathan Jordan, and the Cuban passion on stage. Hers was a firebrand Kitri. Favorite Viengsay moment: in the famous Act 3 adagio, she took a balance in attitude back, held the balance through two phrases of music (when she should have been repeating the step!), then slowly developed through passé to a front line while remaining en pointe. Her partner Jonathan Jordan did a spectacular job as well—an interpretation of Basilio filled with great detail, lots of wit and great musical timing, and no end of virtuosity. Jon is naturally a stylish dancer, but as Basilio his stylishness came into full flower. Favorite Jonathan moment: After Viengsay’s astonishing fuetes during which she opened then snapped shut her fan with each successive fuete, Jon deliberately stepped into fifth position, looked at her suggestively, then averted his eyes as if to say, “Ok, you’ve had your moment—now it’s about me” and he prepared for some whipping turns a la second.

While the leads were indeed spectacular the most remarkable thing about the production was that it gelled as a whole. Everyone involved—all 85 dancers young and old (well, not really that old!)--were completely engaged and energized. Some particular stand-outs worth mentioning:

Favorite Brooklyn Mack moment: His soaring leaps in Espada’s Act 3 variation, particularly the jaw-dropping reveletade at the end.

Favorite Maki Onuki moment: At the end of her Act 2 variation as Amour, a coltish Maki pauses for a moment balances in attitude devant. After a beat she snaps her head front to look at the audience directly, with a glint in her eye as if to say “how did you like that?” before finishing her solo on a dime.

Favorite Jade Payette moment: as the Queen of the Dryads, using her breathtaking jump to full advantage in her jetes in second while remaining absolutely serene above the waist at the top of her Act 2 variation.

Favorite Sona Kharatian moment: the way she was just so damn sexy as Mercedes during her runs up stage and down stage with the Toreodors.

Favorite male bonding moment: the men of the company raising the intensity level onstage during the a capella flamenco opening of Act 3.

I’ve got so many other favorite moments but it’s 1:45 am and we’ve got a whole weekend of shows ahead. Onward!

Stars of Today and Tomorrow

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

11:55 PM: Tonight the second cast of Don Quixote debuted their roles and proved to be in fine form. Maki Onuki and newcomer Brooklyn Mack did a fine job with the fiery roles of Kitri and Basilio and the whole cast rose to the occasion.

Maki is blessed with a lightness which makes her astonishing elevation in jumps seem to come out of nowhere. She has always been a crackerjack—amazing us all with her virtuosic technique and engaging us with her unbridled sense of joy when she dances. But in the last couple of seasons she has emerged as a serious ballerina to be reckoned with. Her Kitri is flamboyant but nuanced, like a barely contained fire blazing across the stage. You can’t watch her without smiling. Her partner Brooklyn Mack, in contrast, is pantherine, and, like Maki, is blessed with a sky-high jump and natural ability to turn. In Don Q their dare-devil technical feats become a metaphor for the way their characters live life: fully and completely.

There were stellar performances throughout the cast, and notably, the students of The Washington School of Ballet shone. The 12 level 4 girls as cupids were a delight—charming baby ballerinas in wonderfully arranged formations, and in junior corps de ballet lines. And the seven boys in the production (hooligans one and all) were a delight—now chasing after the matadors, now fighting over a thrown hat, now indifferently playing cards when the romantic stuff starts, now playing puppets to entertain Don Quixote, now dashing about the stage in chaos as Don Quixote prepares to attach the wind mill. As yes, the stars of tomorrow….

Highlights from Don Q Preview Night

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:49:00 GMT

7:37 AM:
Don Quixote really soared last night. Last night was the preview performance and the whole cast was really on. Jonathan Jordan and guest Viengsay Valdes were electrifying. Jon’s natural smoothness, virtuosic fireworks, and intrinsically elegant style with Viengsay’s astonishing balances, silken turns, and passionate Cuban style were met by a standing ovation which lasted quite a long time. The whole cast did a bang-up job considering they had knocked it our of the ball park at the dress rehearsal a couple of hours earlier. Some highlights:

Viengsay's striking a balance en attitude in the Act 3 Adagio, and remaining perched en pointe—almost as in a trance-skipping a whole passage of choreography because she balanced for so darn long

Jon Jordan’s thrilling manege and series of double turns a la second in the Act 3 coda

Maki Onuki’s spitfire portrayal of Amour in the Act 2 Vision Scene

Jade Payette’s last minute debut as the Queen of the Dryads, replacing an injured Rui Huang with about 30-minutes notice

The hilarious tang between Carlos Valcarcel’s flamboyant Gamache and Luis Torres’s grand and eccentric Don Quixote

Peter DiMuro’s crotchety but warm portrayal of Lorenzo (it’s wonderful to have Peter, the Director of Dance/MetroDC, guesting with us!)

Brooklyn Mack’s pantherine Espada the matador

Sona Kharatian’s smoldering portrayal of Mercedes

The Matadors’ display of virtuosity at the opening of the Act 3 Wedding Scene

The seven amazingly cute little boys—hooligan urchins—who run about in Act 1

This afternoon we have a rehearsal for the third cast and then at 8 pm we premiere Don Quixote. Let the games begin….

Show Time

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

6:45 AM:
It's production week! Yesterday morning at 8 AM the production team, lead by Ed Cucurello, Monica Leland, Jax Messenger and Karen Storm began loading Don Quixote into the Ike Theater.

They broke at 11 PM last night and will start again at 8 this morning. It’s a rush against the clock—they’ve got to get a huge set built and lights focused by our 2 pm tech rehearsal today. At 11 this morning Anna-Marie Holmes, David Palmer and I will set the spikes (we’ll push the set around the stage and ensure it’s set up as needed) and review our notes and game plan for the next two days. We’ve got about 75 dancers involved in this production, and we need to ensure they all know what they are doing backstage and where they need to be on stage, and we’ve got very little time. Changing the set from scene to scene is a major operation, so we’ll rehearse the ballet out of order to save time. We’ll be spacing Cast A and then running Cast B all day, and also slipping Cast C on stage as we have time so they get used to the space. Our schedule looks something like this:

2-5 PM: Act 3 (the taverna scene and the wedding scene) and the opening of Act 1

5-6 PM: while the professional dancers and crew are on a dinner break, Anna-Marie, David and I will space the student dancers: cupids, urchins, townsfolk, etc.

6-9 PM: Finish staging Act 1, and then Act 2 (gypsy and vision scene)

Keeping the engine running (with 75 dancers and about 25 members of the crew) is one of the most important things about today. We’ve got to get through the whole ballet by 9 PM, and also ensure the production is infused with a great sense of verve and daring. Damn it’s a lot of work making art.

Tech Time

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

11 PM: I just got home from Tech rehearsal—things went well all things considered.

It was a seven-hour plow through a very complicated ballet, with multiple casts being rehearsed throughout, although mostly we focused on the cast featuring Maki Onuki and Brooklyn Mack as Kitri and Basilio—that cast premieres Friday night. We got through the whole ballet—barely. A few items hung us up: the Don Quixote dummy getting stuck on the blades of the windmill over and over, various bleed-throughs from one scene to the next, ensuring supers knew where they needed to be (the set features bridges 12 and 14 feet in the air, and the supernumeraries are mainly positioned up there. Not a role for the acrophobic.) We spent a delightful hour working with the cupids (a delightful corps de ballet of young girls who are students of our School—they appear in the vision scene when Don Quixote dreams of Dulcinea) and the puppet show—kids who dance as miniature versions of Kitri, Basilio, Gamache and Lorenzo to entertain Don Quixote.

I’m left excited about the show but also apprehensive. There are so many details and the production requires such technical prowess and verve, that if any one of the about 75 dancers involved lets their guard down for even a moment the production is diminished. Not to mention the fact that I have completely lost my voice—which is tough because of how important it is to communicate all notes to the dancers and crew—although somehow I think they are secretly relieved to have me shut up for a while.

So now it’s time to rest and regroup. Tomorrow I meet Anna-Marie Holmes and Lighting designed Jax Messenger to work on a cue to cue, dress rehearsal at 2:30, then at 8 it’s show time, folks.

Rui of Light

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

4:15 PM

I just got off the phone with Rui Huang, one of our dancers who is playing Kitri in Don Quixote. She just came from the orthopedist’s office with an update on her injury—she may have a stress fracture on her left shin and we’re hoping she can dance this week.

She is cast as the Queen of the Dryads (a very prominent solo role which requires a pure classical line and infinite control) on opening night, and the bravura lead in a subsequent cast, opposite Jared Nelson. The ballet is filled with difficult pirouettes and balances on the left leg, and the stress on Rui’s left side has been immense over the weeks. She’s doing an ibuprofen therapy (keeping the ibuprofen level in the body elevated for several days) and an MRI is needed.

Rui’s ascendancy as a ballerina has been remarkable.About four years ago our then School Director, Rebecca Wright, told me about a remarkable young Chinese student dancer she thought had real ballerina potential. Based on Becky’s recommendation, I invited Rui here for the summer. After seeing her in one class I invited her to join our Studio Company. Her talent was immediately evident—she is blessed with a beautiful pure classical line and a wonderful femininity, but her dancing also seems quite modern and fresh. She skipped both a second year as a Studio Company member and a second year as an apprentice, both of which are usual steps to go through before moving into the company. Early on we cast her in the important role of Sugar Plum Fairy (on the suggestion of Jared Nelson) and then this spring she tackled the role of Wendy in Peter Pan. Both Queen of the Dryads and Kitri will be additional notches in her repertoire belt. It’s great to be young, talented and have bright lights ahead of you!

Nutty Auditions

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

9:45 PM:
It’s baaaaaaack...We just finished our Nutcracker audition process—last weekend at THE ARC, and this weekend at our Northwest campus, with final call backs ending a few hours ago. While completely exhausting, the experience is also completely inspiring. The young dancers age 6-18 are so filled with joy and enthusiasm for the world they are discovering. Some highlights:

The impossible cuteness of the smallest children in the “I want cheese” mouse dance phrase; the seriousness of the levels 2’s as the y marched as soldiers with single-minded focus; the level three’s trying their hand at cartwheels and the challenging saute arabesque, faille, glissade pas de chat to tendu phrase. Stunning and willowy little butterflies bouree-ing on pointe; the boys (aka little hooligans) marching together, a group of teenage girls trying their skills in Clara’s big solo in Act 1. Casting will be posted on Wednesday—I know there will be lots of sleep lost by aspiring young dancers between now and then….

Cheers,
Septime

Cuban Connection

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

This evening I participated in a public round table discussion at Gala Hispanic Theatre on the topic “Cuban Cultural Exchange Today.” It’s a fascinating topic as USA/Cuba policy is so dynamic now, and it’s also timely because Viengsay Valdes, Ballet Nacional de Cuba’s prima ballerina, just arrived to guest with us in Don Quixote.

The panel was organized by my good friend James Early of the Smithsonian Institute and Patricia Prego, the First Secretary of the Cuban Interest Section (the equivalent of the Cuban Embassy, but as we do not have diplomatic relations with Cuba the delegation is technically the Cuban Interest Section of the Swiss Embassy.) Other panelists included movie star Danny Glover, who has long been interested in the cultural manifestations of the melding of Cuba and the African Diaspora, as well as Cuban art collector Peggy Cooper Cafritz (whose collection was largely destroyed in the recent fire which destroyed her home!), Hugo Medrano, the Artistic Director of Gala, and other colleagues interested in our changing policies. While all of us are concerned with the cultural arena, and these are not political initiatives, but artistic ones, I know that we are contributing to the body politic by fostering greater understanding between the people of the United States and the people of Cuba, and that as a will for deeper ties develop among people, governments must eventually change policy to reflect that will.

Viengsay’s presence with TWB is significant on multiple levels: She’s a world-renowned artist and will be a terrific Kitri, with her Cuban fire, steely balances and dare-devil turns. She’s also one of the first Cuban artists to be granted an O1 visa by the US (for an artist of extraordinary ability) since 2004. And..she's as sweet as can be. She’ll be dancing Kitri opposite Jonathan Jordan on opening night, and two other shows—Wednesday and Saturday nights. I’ll also be hosting a dance/seminar entitled “Cuban Dance Today” on Thursday, October 8 from 6:30-7:30 here at our studios. We’ll be watching Viengsay and Laura Urgelles dance and then I’ll lead a discussion about the Cuban ballet tradition including juicy gossip about what’s going on now.

Preparations for Don Q proceed.The company is looking great, with performances deepening daily. Russian ballerina Larissa Ponomorenko is here this week coaching the company and her use of torso, dynamic, ports de bras, and control inspires. Two weeks to go!

We got Rhythm

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

TGIF.

This week Victor Plotnikov, a former star with the Boston Ballet, originally from the Republic of Georgia, has been working with the company coaching Don Quixote. It’s been an intense week and he’s focused particularly on the opening scene of Act III which is set in a Spanish taverna. There is a very complicated flamenco-inspired dance for the men, dancing to the sound of the company clapping some very complex rhythms while Aurora Dickie, in a tough-girl role, stomps out the beat with a pole (all while straddling a café chair). Rehearsals have seemed a little silly as the real props haven’t arrived yet, so she’s been using a hobby horse from The Nutcracker instead. Hopefully the real props with show up soon—Nutcracker iconography will show up soon enough.

Cheers,
Septime

And the award goes to...

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

“Mom I won, I won, I won!”

Last night was a great night for TWB. We won two awards at the Metro DC Dance Awards held at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater. Last season’s Highland Fling: La Sylphide and Celts won the Outstanding Production/Large Venue Award and Jeff Bruckerhoff won Best Lighting Design for Wunderland, on our pastFORWARD program last spring. We were also finalists in three other categories: Jonathan Jordan, for Outstanding Performer for his high-flying adaptation of Peter Pan; Andile Ndlovu for Outstanding Emerging Performer for his solo Beyond Skin; and Highland Fling: La Sylphide and Celts was also a finalist in the Outstanding Group Performance category. Additionally, Jon Jordan and Sona Kharatian performed a duet choreographed by Sona’s dad during the Awards show—they were stunning. The Awards show was emceed by NYC-based Richard Move who channeled Martha Graham. He/she was a scream. I had worked with Richard/Martha once before in a show he/she hosted at Dance Place years ago. Favorite line: when introducing the scantily-clad DC Cowboys, an urban-country dance group who performed the finale of the show, he/she quipped a real-life Graham quote “In my ballets, we dress the women, and undress the men.”

Earlier in the evening Board member Tim Bork and his wife Shigeko (and their delightful dancing daughter Skye) hosted a swell evening at their G’town home in honor of the many Japanese dancers in our School, Studio Company and Company. About one hundred social and corporate types who have ties to Japan, as well as the Japanese Ambassador to the US, attended and four of our dancers performed on a stage Tim had built on his terrace. We used this opportunity to launch our new TWB Japan/USA initiative which will do three things: 1) fund scholarships for Japanese students to study at TWSB; 2) help fund the recruitment and retention of Japanese dancers in our Company and Studio Company; and 3) the commissioning of a major world premiere ballet by a Japanese choreographer on a Japanese theme for an upcoming Kennedy Center season.

I guess you could call last night a one-two-punch kinda night.

Cheers,
Septime

Dancing Dryads

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Anna-Marie finished staging Don Q Act 1 on Friday and today she’s making good headway through Act 2. Whereas Act 1 is set in a town square featuring a fiesta-like atmosphere, tons of athletic feats and lots of humor, Act 2’s centerpiece is the serene and quite beautiful Dryad scene.

Don Quixote imagines the troublemaker Kitri to be his Dulcinea and we see an idealized scene of dancing Dryads—beautiful women-creatures—in a classic Petipa dream sequence along the lines of La Bayadere’s Kingdom of the Shades scene, or Swan Lake act 2. If the men (and Kitri!) define the energy of Act 1, then it’s the sumptuous and lyrical dancing of the women which dominates Act 2. There are actually 2 corps de ballets in the scene: one comprised of our Company and Studio Company ladies, and one for 24 serious young ballet students from our level 4 and 5 classes. They are charming and also stage struck. And the scene is filled with some pretty tricky variations (solos) for women on pointe. Rui Huang, Jade Payette, Diana Albrecht and Sona Kharatian are all working on the famed role of the Queen of the Dryads...They are all a delight.

Cheers,
Septime

Burning the Midnight Oil

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Damn I’m sore as hell.

I don’t know if I can keep up this schedule—things are really heating up at the studio—although the work is really rewarding. I’ve got my feet up, I’m drinking a cold Mexican beer (Negra Modelo—I’m brand-loyal) and pining for my summer. I had four particularly great experiences this summer. I began practicing yoga pretty seriously about two years ago and have been focusing on the Ashtanga style. It’s a particularly vigorous type of yoga most usually practiced at 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning. My Cuban blood makes me constitutionally resistant to the early morning yoga thing (not to mention a couple of cold Mexican beers the night before.) But I soldier on.

The four great experiences: 1) In June, I took a ten-day workshop with famed Ashtanga teacher David Swenson and his wife Shelley Washington (who was a long-time Twyla Tharp dancer and someone I’ve known since my early ballet dancer days in New York). It was an amazing week and a half. 2) From there I traveled to Tulum, Mexico in the Yucutan Penninsula. Friends and family rented a house on the beach and I practiced yoga, read on the beach, and refueled (cold Mexican beer in hand of course…). 3) In August ,I was in Honolulu for three weeks staging Peter Pan for Ballet Hawaii—they had hired some of our dancers including Corey Landolt, Tamas Krizsa, Norton Fantinel and Dustin Shane, which was fun for them. What an amazing place! And my daily schedule was pretty dreamy: Ashtanga from 7-8:30; surfing from 10-11; rehearsals from 1-7; dinner and a CMB (ummmm, you can guess what brand); sleep; repeat. 4) I reluctantly got on that return flight to DC, but returned to an interesting project. I had a week-long residency at Goucher College in Baltimore where I re-staged my ballet D-Construction, set to a John Cage score. This was a delight—D-Con is the first ballet I ever choreographed, and I had not revisited it in many years. It was originally choreographed for four very athletic male dancers, and I re-staged it on six female dancers. They were in for a shock, because it’s a really tough ballet to dance, but they are up for the challenge. It premieres at Goucher in November and it’ll be nice to see it on stage again. Ooops, my CMB’s empty. I guess it’s bed time.

Cheers,
Septime

Back in the Saddle...and the Studio

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:00:00 GMT

I’m back in my office from our first rehearsal day of the 2009-10 season. We started staging Don Quixote today, and the studios are crackling with energy.

Anna-Marie Holmes is staging the work and David Palmer and I are assisting her. We really ripped through the material quickly today and because of Anna-Marie’s wit I can see the artists are going to have a lot of fun with this project. Eight dancers are learning the lead roles of Kitri, the ballet’s feisty heroine and the dashing young barber Basilio, her prank-loving suitor. Jonathan Jordan, Jared Nelson, new-comer Brooklyn Mack, and Norton Fantinel are all learning Basilio, and the role calls for some major pyrotechnics. It was fun to see the friendly competition to see who could do the wildest reveletade and pull in from turn in second with the greatest number of pirouettes. Rui Huang, Maki Onuki, Jade Payette and Laura Urgelles are all working on Kitri, and we’ll be joined by internationally recognized Cuban ballerina Viengsay Valdes, who will arrive in mid-September (the Visa was just approved—whew!). Not all of the dancers learning the part will do it in October, but I think Don Q will remain in the repertoire and we’ll see them all grow in the role over time. Once Anna-Marie has set the ballet, David Palmer and I will be in charge of rehearsing different sections, and I’m taking on Espada and the Toreodors—roles for TWB’s extraordinary men. We worked on that section for a couple of hours today and there’s a great sense of play among the artists. It’s great to be back in the studio again.

Cheers,
Septime

Dancer Blog

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

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