In Divertimento #15 as Solo #3 girl. Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust. Photo © Leigh-Ann Esty.
With former MCB dancer Kristin D'Addario getting ready for Company B.
Post by Sara Esty, Corps de Ballet
September 24, 2010
It’s finally here! Tomorrow is our last day of rehearsals until we get to New York! We have been running through “The Golden Section” every day this week and have been adding the finishing touches to make it its best. Everyone is excited and ready…there are even a few members of the cast who have never been to NYC! Renan Cerdeiro is one such member and can barely contain himself. Even though we will only be there a short time, there is so much everyone wants to see and do. But first things first: kick butt as the closing performers in the sold out opening night shows of City Centers’ Fall for Dance festival (Sept. 28 & 29)! I will be bringing MCB’s flip camera to the Big Apple with us so stay tuned for some highly entertaining footage!
Last week, MCB had the pleasure of taping Twyla Tharp’s “The Golden Section”, and George Balanchine’s Square Dance and Western Symphony for Great Performances: Dance in America to air on PBS in 2011. The entire company was ecstatic to have this opportunity and everyone involved worked tremendously hard on this project.
We talked to soloist Callie Manning about her filming experience. She shares with us the differences between dancing onstage and dancing in a TV studio, what changed about her makeup routine, and what was the most challenging part of the whole process.
Doing "Oh Johnny" in Company B. Photo © Leigh-Ann Esty
Eating green tea ice cream in Kyoto
Post by Sara Esty, Corps de Ballet
Hi All!
It has been a while since my last post, but for good reason. The company has been in the process of filming an upcoming special for PBS (Great Performances: Dance in America)! Everyone has been so busy, spending everyday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the TV studio dancing our butts off! It has been some of the toughest, hardest days any of us have experienced, but what an incredible opportunity and amazing life adventure it has been. The first two days of filming focused on “The Golden Section.” This really has allowed all of us to feel extra-prepared and ready for our upcoming tour to New York City Center (Sept. 28-29). Not only is our stamina and endurance up, but the performance quality is looking top notch…thanks to a bunch of cameras in our faces! I think it has been great practice, and I can’t wait to bring this piece back to the stage. Stay tuned as we get closer to our departure!
Photo © Alexandre Dufaur
The exciting company premiere of Twyla Tharp’s Baker’s Dozen will be performed as part of Program II. We will follow principal dancer Jeanette Delgado on MCB Blog as she prepares for opening night in January.
Post by Principal Dancer Jeanette Delgado
Learning a ballet that is new to our repertory is always a very exciting process! It is a fresh opportunity to expand artistically without any preconceived ideas of how it is “supposed” to look. Elaine Kudo, Twyla Tharp repetiteur, was here in June working with us on Baker’s Dozen which will premiere during Program II. My sister Patricia and I both worked with Elaine when we spent summers at the ABT school so it’s always really nice to reconnect with her! She was a ballerina with ABT as well as a dancer for Twyla’s company, so she knows how to explain Twyla’s steps to ballet dancers. We have to almost undo some of our ballet technique in order to grasp the movement because it is very different from what we’re used to! It takes us a while and we came out of those rehearsals bruised and sore in strange places!
By now we have become more familiar to this style from all the Tharp ballets we’ve conquered; however, we’re used to dancing her more intense and powerful choreography and the feeling in Baker’s Dozen is very different. It’s a lot lighter and more playful but still has very grounded and dynamic movements. It’s definitely a challenge trying to be explosive and energetic but in a subtle and kind of nonchalant way! When it’s done right it is an awesome ballet!! Funny and playful and of course, like all the Tharp ballets, full of ENERGY!
Jeanette Delgado in Baker’s Dozen. Photo © 2009 Lois Greenfield.