Strictly come dancing.....?

[pjme]

Any interest in contemporary ballet or choreographers? The use of "classical" music?

[pjme]

At the Antwerp OperaBallet a new production of Die sieben Todsünden:

Hans van Manen and Beethoven

[pjme]

https://www.abruckner.com/editorsnote/recordingswbruckner/uwescholz/

[Iota]

Any interest in contemporary ballet or choreographers?

Yes. Although I don't know much about it, and don't watch it a lot, there are some gems that come out when I do.
Have only watched the Hammerklavier video below so far, which I enjoyed .. was sad the excerpt was not longer, it cut out at a great moment in the music. But will certainly take a look at the others, thanks for posting.

[pjme]

Thanks
...there is some movement...

Next week .....Mats Ek, Pina Bausch, more Jyri Kylian, Hans van Manen, Alexander Ekman ....!

[pjme]

Something new, something ...old(er)...

[pjme]

Thanks for introducing me to Alston. I was happily surprised to see that he used a very wide range of classical music

Works choreographed by Alston , from Montverdi and Scarlatti to Britten and Glass.

Personally, it was mainly discovering the work of Pina Bausch that opened a whole new world of theater for me.

[pjme]

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Antwerp & Ghent / Geneva + Arvo Pärt

Ballet Zürich + Monteverdi

Chemnitz Ballet + Schubert Winterreise

https://www.contemporary-dance.org/contemporary-dance-history.html

"We could say that both ballet and modern dance are ancestors of contemporary dance. Ballet creates the general concert dance frame work and technical knowledge used or refused by contemporary dance. Modern dance is at the same time its 'anti-reference' and kind of 'mother in law'."

[pjme]

dating from 1978... good memories!

"Dedicated to my grandmother Tepánka Petová"
"Sinfonietta is perhaps my most spontaneous work - not by aim, but because of the extremely limited time and conditions in which it was created. The company was floating and had no definite plans for the future. There was unrest among the dancers. During this time I received a telephone call from Joseph Wishy, then the director of the Charleston Festival, who had asked me whether I had ever heard of the composer named Janácek? I answered, that I always wanted to, but never had the guts to use his work, as the task seemed so filled with responsibility towards this music, which every visitor of our house was forced to listen to. My bones and reins were soaked in it. I was advised not to accept the offer to choreograph this work for the Charleston Festival, as the production time which was at our disposal, would be severely limited. Tickled by a sense of adventure and feeling that the time was right - I said yes. Walter Nobbe, the designer of this piece, held my hand when I took the decision to demonstrate his support. Sold to the devil - now we had to make it.

[Iota]

.. Personally, it was mainly discovering the work of Pina Bausch that opened a whole new world of theater for me.

I enjoyed that, thanks. Although I must say I wish there was less zooming in for close shots. Occasionally it's great, but most of the time the power of the work for me lies in seeing the whole ensemble, as one would in the theatre, and I find the chopping and changing detracts quite a bit. But perhaps I'm just out of touch.

Pina Bausch is great. The Rite of Spring choreography though that first lit my enthusiasm for modern ballet was the original Nijinsky one, which I still find a wonderful thing.

[pjme]

most of the time the power of the work for me lies in seeing the whole ensemble, as one would in the theatre

Exactly - I chose the YT clips purely as illustrations (combination of music and choreography). 
Seeing Bausch's Sacre live is an overwhelming experience (the floor is covered in peat) and "Palermo, Palermo" starts with one of the most unexpected "bangs" ....effects that work best in a theatre.
My interest in dance/choreography started way back in the late 60s and 70s. Bus loads of school children were driven to "Vorst nationaal", a huge hall in Brussels that would accomodate ca 8000 spectators for Maurice Béjarts spectacles - Beethovens 9th and Ravels Bolero were for many a first introduction to "theatre".
My curiosity was piqued, and living close to the Dutch border, it was easy to travel to Eindhoven, Tilburg, Rotterdam and Amsterdam to see Het Nederlands Danstheater in works by Jiri Kylian, Hans van Manen, Toer van Schayk. Not only did they use well known classics (Mahler, Schubert, Haydn) but also a lot of works by composers I liked already: Janacek, Chavez, Ravel, Martinu!
Maguy Marin (France) is another choreographer I find very interesting.

Anne Theresa de Keersmaeker /Rosas uses a lot of repetitive ( and Bach, Bartok, Mozart, Schönberg....).... music (which drives me crazy) but she is "incontournable" (unavoidable) in contemporary dance...

[Iota]

Exactly - I chose the YT clips purely as illustrations (combination of music and choreography).

Oh I don't mind the clips, they just give you a taste of the whole. But even watching whole videos of performances, the same problem occurs.
I imagine any video director with ideas would want to express themselves/justify their role etc, it must be very frustrating to be asked to just point a video at the stage and more or less leave it there for the duration. But that's generally what I wish they would do. Some overhead shots are great and seem excellent use of video potential, but then the experience becomes cluttered by constant jumping around of viewpoints and just becomes too much.

Seeing Bausch's Sacre live is an overwhelming experience (the floor is covered in peat) and "Palermo, Palermo" starts with one of the most unexpected "bangs" ....effects that work best in a theatre.
My interest in dance choreography started way back in the late 60s and 70s. Bus loads of school children were driven to "Vorst nationaal", a huge hall in Brussels that would accomodate ca 8000 spectators for Maurice Béjarts spectacles - Beethovens 9th and Ravels Bolero were for many a first introduction to "theatre".
My curiosity was piqued, and living close to the Dutch border, it was easy to travel to Eindhoven, Tilburg, Rotterdam and Amsterdam to see Het Nederlands Danstheater in works by Jiri Kylian, Hans van Manen, Toer van Schayk. Not only did they use well known classics (Mahler, Schubert, Haydn) but also a lot of works by composers I liked already: Janacek, Chavez, Ravel, Martinu!

I'm sure the Bausch Rite is extraordinary live, I'd love to see it! And those Béjart spectacles sound great.

[pjme]

Neapolitan folksongs - raw & sweet.

Béjart Beethoven .... Zubin Mehta...

If I'm not mistaken Sifnios created Bolero for Béjart in 1961. What a rare item!

[ritter]

Great stuff, Peter! Indeed, that early film of Béjart's Boléro is quite a find!!

I really love that choreography. Here is a more recent filming, which cleverly superimposes a male and a female dancer (from different performances). The female dancer is Elisabet Ros, with whom I saw the ballet like here in Madrid some years ago. She was wonderful!

(Apparently, this can only be watched on YouTube, not on our forum ),

[pjme]

Amsterdam  Nationale Opera & Ballet

30 March 2024 | 20:15 

Petite symphonie concertante (ballet)

NetherlandsDutch National BalletJiří Kylián, Hans van Manen, David Dawson, Milena Sidorova choreography

Dutch Ballet OrchestraThomas Herzog conductor

I might go. Martins Petite symphonie is a long - time favorite.