Good Sunday morning from a nice 'n' toasty Asheville...

          On my computer desktop, I always seem to have several browser tabs open. I come across something or look up information, don't want to print it out or have time to read it immediately, so my screen becomes the equivalent of a pile of Post-it notes on my physical desktop.

        Currently, there are two bookmarked recipe pages (miso broiled salmon and creamy vegan tofu spread), an audio interview with dancer Siphesihile November, a Priya Krishna piece on the influence of Asian grocery stores on the American palate, an editorial by my friend Cherilyn Lee musing on why and how the paintings of Degas are so captivating for dancers and non-dancers alike, a New York Times pictorial about the Curtis Institute of Music, a tutorial on how to remove mold from shower tile (lovely), and last but not least, an excellent piece by Gia Kourlas on the state of 21st century ballet and a Pointe magazine article on the fascinating English National Ballet production of Swan Lake-- in the round, with 60 swans.

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  If I could see only one ballet performance this year, I think it would be ENB's Swan Lake. The way it has been choreographed for audiences on all sides means that the experience of watching it must be not unlike an Imax movie. Immersion, or nearly. Some audience members will be closer to the dancers than they have ever been before. So close that the wardrobe personnel painstakingly inspect every single tutu for the slightest smudge or sweat stain-- which would be visible to those nearby viewers. Choreography is doubled or quadrupled so people can see the formations from all angles, front and back and sideways. The sheer scale of it-- 60 swans!!!-- must be majestic and, I suspect, awesome in the real sense of the word.

         Be sure to check out the rehearsal videos on ENB's website, linked below.                 

         Gia Kourlas, in last week's New York Times, writes about the jaggedness she saw at New York City Ballet this past year, their 75th anniversary season. She regrets seeing too many ballets that seemed unrooted, without a reason for being-- noting that even "meaningless" ballets can and should also leave you feeling moved emotionally-- but is cheered up by two new ballets in particular that had lightness and joy, along with deeply troubling scenes, structure and resonance and emotional impact. Those two, by Tiler Peck and Alexei Ratmansky (Peck's Concerto For Two Pianos and Ratmansky's Solitude), are the ones that left Gia optimistic about the direction ballet's headed. She also appreciates the new pieces by Pam Tanowitz, a modern dancer and choreographer who makes work for ballet dancers and companies that maximizes their precision outside the frame of their training), and Lauren Lovette, a former NYCB principal-turned choreographer who's gone the opposite direction from Tanowitz-- she's resident choreographer for the Paul Taylor Dance Company.

    Gia also notes that Balanchine, in whose house all these ballets were presented, both watches over the evolution of his company and silently remains its truth. I agree with her 100% when she says, "His ballets teach you about the power and pleasure of paying attention. It’s a kind of art making for the viewer: What we see belongs to us. Ballet is an otherworldly art, more than a few cool moves strung together by a trendy choreographer. And for what has been an extremely rocky 21st century, ballet is so important: It’s a place of peace."