Cleveland Orchestra: Joffery Ballet: The Rite of Spring

Gould: Interplay (choreographed by Jerome Robbins)
Adams: Son of Chamber Symphony (choreographed by Stanton Welch)
Khachaturian: Adagio (choreographed by Yuri Possikhov)
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (Choreography after Vaslav Nijinsky, reconstructed by Millicent Hudson)
Joella Jones, piano.
Tito Munoz, conductor.

Once again a beautiful late summer evening greater patrons arriving at Blossom Music Center -- and its hard to believe summer is almost over, and there is only one more "true" cancer weekend left at Blossom. (There is a labor day double header of music from Pixar films that sounds interesting, but at this point it seems Rachel and I will be in St. Ignace, Michigan to participate in the Mackinac Bridge walk). Anyway, returning to this evening, I had found my way toy seat early and was settled in -- head down in reading about the advantages of clipless bike pedals -- when about 10 minutes until 8 the dam bust open and a surge of patrons filled the pavilion.

Opening the evening was Interplay, a four movement piece that the program notes claim has no storyline, however, I got the feeling of innocence and playground fun (the movement titles seem to support this) the third movement was slow and sad almost a loss of innocence before turning a slow jazzy (with a thin hint of "making whoopee" wisping up from the orchestra if I'm not reading too much into it) before turning spritely and happy and fast for the fourth movement.

I can have mixed feelings with John Adams work, and Son of a Chamber Symphony would be no exception of the music were to stand alone. Likewise, the dance without music would have fallen into that same void, but the combination of the two (and possibly the number of classical tutus--have I mentioned I'm a sucker for the look of a classical tutu) was beautiful allowing me to switch from eye to ear at whim as my attention span with either was taxed.

The last piece before intermission was the beautiful nine-minute duet Adagio which was, true to its name, a slow piece filled with romance and dance where both seemed to flow effortlessly.

The sole piece after intermission was Stavinsky's The Rite of Spring -- a piece celebrating its centennial this year. The piece has intrigued me since I first heard it performed at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) a few years ago and when I heard about it's turbulent history (causing a "near riot" in the audience upon its premiere for it's -- at the time -- avant garde music and choreography). I've heard the piece performed several times since, but I've never seen it danced. While musically it was a bit less sharply percussive than I've come to expect, it was a beautiful performance and I will say my heart seemed to beat a bit faster and I had to imagine being in the theatre a hundred years ago -- seeing something "new" and unlike the three pieces proceeding it on the program.

Lincoln

Dance Cleveland: Ballet Memphis

After Joe Rebman's harp recital at CIM, Rachel and I headed back down to PlayhouseSquare's Ohio Theatre for one of the two Ballet Memphis performances I previewed a while a back (the program repeats tomorrow at 3:00 PM). Having seen the slightly fictional Memphis two doors down at the Palace Theatre about a week ago I was interested to see and hear Ballet Memphis.

Tonight's program brought together a great mix of dance with classical and modern influences. Opening the program, Being Here With Other People (Julie Niekrasz, Stephanie Hom, Hikedo Karrasawa, Virginia Pilgrim, Rachel Shumak, Ben Warner, Rafael Ferreras, Brandon Rame; Choreographed by Steven McMahon, Music: III Movement (Rondo Allegro) from Beethoven's Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 61) was full of joy -- in the music, dance, and dancer's expressions. Choreographed by a Ballet Memphis member at the beginning of he recession at artistic director Dorthy Gunter Pug's invitation to choreograph something to bring joy to the audience -- and he certainly succeeded.

It was impossible not to settle in to your seat and find a happy place with that beginning of the piece. Subtle humor (and some not so subtle humor in the form of soloist Stephanie Horn's gestures) raised laughter from the audience and set the right tone for the performance.

Next up was an addition to the program Takademe (Kendal G. Britt, Jr.; Choreograped by Robert Battle; Music: Speaking in Tongues I by Shelia Chandra, a solo piece that was full of eye catching movement and ear catching (if slightly hypnotic) sound. Mr. Britt seemed at one with the music and at one point Rachel leaned over and asked if the human body could actually move that quickly. In a post-show question and answer session, Mr. Brit mentioned that both how the day and the specific dynamic of the audience affects his interpretation of the piece, with some audiences welcoming a bit more experimentation than others, and now two performances are exactly the same.

The last piece before intermission Curtain of Green (Crystal Brothers, Steven McMahon, Kendall G. Britt, Jr., Choreographed by Julia Adam, Music: Philip Glass Etudes No. 2 and Etudes No. 5 from Etudes for Piano, Vol.1 No. 1-10) is based on a short story by Eudora Welty about a woman who's husband is killed by a falling tree, and the mourns by taking after her garden where she takes out grief and anger on her Gardner. Seemingly a collection of storybook scenes this dance had a more linear feel (and was a bit more serious) than the first two. Though it was revealed at the post show Q&A that there were a couple technical glitches, the dancers recovered seamlessly and someone not familiar with the dance (including yours truly) would have had any reason to be suspicious.

Which was true of the entire performance -- if there were any other technical problems, the company was so elastic and responsive that they were easily overlooked.
Picking up after intermission, S'epanouir (Crystal Brothers, Stephanie Horn, Hideako Karasawa, Rachel Shumake, Ben Warner, Rafael Ferreras, Brandon Ramey, kendall G. Britt, Jr.; Choreographed by Jane Comprot and Company, Music: Journey to AbunDANCE or S'epanouir by Kirk Whalum) starts slow and dark ("A woman is in the depths of an emotional and/or spiritual crisis...") and I was wondering what to say--not particularly enjoying the dance or the music--until both blossomed into a much brighter and happier mood ("...until the community comes to her aid...") and concludes with a gospel choir and a powerful image ("...and lifts her to a joyous transformation.")

Last on the program In Dreams (Julie Niekrasz, Stephanie Horn, Virginia Pilgrim, Travis Bradley, Steven McMahon, Choreographed by Trey McIntyre, Music (all performed by Roy Orbison): Dream Baby, You Tell Me, The Crowd, I Never Knew, In Dreams, Crying. Playing homage to fellow Memphian Roy Orbison, it was an interesting concept and a lovely collection of warm songs but I didn't really sense a strong connection between the music and the dance -- and at times the warm sounds of the music (with dark costumes on a dark stage) tempted me to just close my eyes.
But if that's all I have to complain about it was a very good show...

Lincoln

Preview: Ballet Memphis (via Dance Cleveland) March 10-11

On my recent trip to Minnesota, you might recall, I stopped in for a Saint Paul City Ballet performance and  lamented Cleveland's lack of ballet. I was overlooking, it seems, Dance Cleveland's presentations bringing the acclaimed Ballet Memphis to Cleveland for two performances on Saturday, March 10th (8p) and Sunday, March 11th (3p) in PlayhouseSquare's Ohio Theater

While Cleveland hasn't had a company in residence since San Jose Cleveland Ballet dropped Cleveland in a dozen years ago -- preceding my arrival in Cleveland -- Dance Cleveland is promising that "If Northeast Ohio still had a classical ballet company in residence, it might look and feel like Ballet Memphis"

The company, now in its 25th year, is headed by Memphis native Dorthy Gunther Pugh has been said to serve as a cultural ambassador for that city's unique cultural heritage.

During their brief stay in Cleveland, the troupe will be presenting a bit of that heritage with a nod to another famous Tennessean: Roy Orbison's voice and six of his most popular songs provides the musical backdrop for Trey McIntyre's "sometimes  dark, always passionate" In Dreams, described by the New York Times simply as "Exceptional".

Choreographed by Jane Comfort with music by Memphis saxophonist Kirk Whalum, S'epanouir comes to an end "with a hand-clapping  gospel celebration". Though the piece "tells the story of a woman in the depths of an emotional crisis" aided in a transformation by community it is said that the piece  has a more joyful quality than is typical for that choreographer's works.

Featuring the rondo finale from the rondo finale Beethoven's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Op. 61 dancer-choreographer Steven McMahnon's Being Here With Other People is said to be an expression of gratitude for the "'home-away from home' atmosphere that Steven McMahnon finds in Memphis"

Rounding out the announced program, Curtain of Green by Juila Adam is inspired by Eudora Welty's story of the same time and is an "abstract retelling of lost love, fear, and madness" revolving around a widow who obsessively tends to a tangled garden and whose rage nearly boils over.  

I'm certainly looking forward to the unique expression of ideas that only dance offers.
Ticket prices range from $30-$45 and can be purchased at playhousesquare.org, via phone at 866-546-1353, or to avoid fees in person  at the PlayhouseSquare Box Office on Euclid Avenue.

Lincoln

Saint Paul City Ballet: The Company at the McKnight

After finishing some meetings in Rochester this morning I moved to Minneapolis for tonight -- checking into The Marquette, a Hilton-managed hotel that's not aligned with any of the family's marques (I suspect this may be because there is both a Hilton and a DoubleTree within perhaps a few thousand feet of the hotel) -- the service level is at least equal to if not slightly higher than what I expect from Hilton but not being tied to brand standards it feels much less cookie cutter and is just a little bit more fun.

Anyway, by the time I got to the hotel I didn't feel like I had enough time to get to and really enjoy the Walker Art Center before it closed; perhaps I'll try a quick run in the morning or maybe it will have to wait for my next trip (tentatively the end of March). Instead I made my way over to Saint Paul to check out the Ordway Center and Saint Paul City Ballet's The Company at the McKnight.

Ballet is an art that I certainly don't get enough of -- the fluidity and grace of the human body can be stunning in the right contexts. In the ultimate incarnation ballet has the unique power to dance on the ears and tickle the eyes. And I have to admit I'm a little bit of a sucker for the look of the classical tutu.

Tonight's program ran just about 90 minutes inclusive of a 20-minute intermission and 5-minute pause and I think it hit the sweet spot as for length with the following selections:

Excerpts from Raymonda (Choreography after Marius Petipa, restaged by Ted Sothern; Music by Alexander Glazunov; Costumes by Ann Marie Ethen; Lighting by Chuck Norwood)

Not an Etude (Coreography by Ted Sothern; Music composed for SPCB by George Maurer; Costumes by Ted Sothern and Ann Marie Ethen; Lighting by Chuck Norwood)

One (Choreography by Joseph Morrissey; Music by Sugeru Umebayashi and Michael Galasso; Costumes by Ann Marie Ethen; Lighting by Chuck Norwood)

Bolero (Choregoraphy by Greg Drotar, Music by Maurice Ravel; Costumes by Greg Drotar; Lighting by Chuck Norwood)

Considering myself lucky if I see ballet (in any form) once a year I can't really comment on the technical aspects of dance -- the couple next to me was commenting on one of the male dancer's sloppy jumps after Raymonda, but generally I had no issues with the dance; it was fun to watch and none of the pieces were so long as to be boring.

The one complaint I did have throughout is the audio quality: While a live orchestra was probably too much to ask for (and probably not a possibility within the physical constraints of the McKnight theater -- a pretty intimate venue) the audio was horrid. At times it I wasn't sure if it was over compressed or just the victim of a truly frightful house EQ curve, at others compression artifacts (as if someone was playing a low-quality MP3) were clearly audible and I think every piece had some, culmintating with an unacceptable level of background hiss present: The overall result was something not much better than listening to music on an AM radio and generally distracted from the dance.

Excerpts from Raymonda with its overture, le grand pas hongris, le pas classique hongris, variations I-V, and coda was the longest piece of the program and also the piece with the most classical air about it in terms of technique and costuming.

Not an Etude was clearly a social commentary with a three-dancer clique playing against a solo male dancer (two men, two women all costumed virtually identically) the music was fun and while it took me a bit to figure out the commentary, I think it was the first time I've laughed during a dance show of any kind -- and I was not alone among the audience.

Conversely I didn't find One compelling nor did I connect to it musically or philosophically I honestly didn't find either the choreography or music memorable and may or may not have been counting smoke detectors on the catwalk near the end of the piece.

A dance based on Ravel's delightful Bolero closed out the program and although I think the audio was at its worst in this piece it tied with the first piece on the program for my favorites of the evening. With the almost militaristic constant drumbeat throughout I've always thought this was a no brainier for a dance and while Greg Drotar's choreography went a different direction than I've imagined while listening to this piece (most recently at a http://lincolnincleveland.blogspot.com/2011/10/cleveland-orchestra-fridays7-bolero.html) it was no less appealing.

Leaving the Ordway in the 25-ish degree outside weather I noticed quite display of ice carving across the street and lingered a bit to watch the crowds and carving but not really being prepared for extended time outdoors I shortly headed back to the hotel. Watching the local news in the hotel room, it seems that this is part of St. Paul's Winter Carnival) -- but on a blustery winter night it was nice to see so many people outside "downtown"

Lincoln

Cleveland Public Theatre: Pandemonium

"I don't need your umbrella, that's OK, I like the rain" - No More Kings, Umbrella

"Well, I'm a horrible dancer, I ain't going to lie, but I'll be damned if that means I ain't going to try / Yeah, I'm a sh---y romancer, baby I ain't gonna lie, but I'll be damned if I ain't going to try" - The Limousines, Internet Killed the Video Star

"No time for cameras, we'll use our eyes instead, I see flashes of gold" - Matt and Kim, Cameras

So... I'm confronted with a conundrum: I had planned on attending Cleveland Public Theatre's Pandemonium with someone who I would have been meeting for the first time and who had a rather pressing personal matter come up. Despite the best efforts of myself, friends, and even a few random strangers I couldn't come up with someone to use the ticket. Thus, if I'm evaluating value at $125 per person Pandemonium was a fantastic hit; if I'm evaluating value at $250 per person, effectively what I paid, eh...it's a bit steep.

The event, covering nearly the entire CPT campus, including parts that I had never before realized were parts of the CPT campus defies easy description: With performances ranging from stand up comedy to interpretive dance on 20-odd stages throughout the complex, mingled with food from an equally diverse selection of providers, all without being nickle-and-dimmed-- admission is truly all-inclusive.

Early in the evening I decided not to ask questions, but before we get there... I helped to build a bridge. Literally. And it may have been the single most memorable part of the night for me. As the event began it was raining, and a small river formed between the main entrance and half of the stages. Several CPT volunteers and staffers looking quite nice in their evening wear were shuttling bricks in to form a dry walkway and it seemed like it would have been most ungentlemanly of myself to not lend a hand while they were wading through the water...so that's exactly what I did. Eventually a 8' table also appeared, and between the table and bricks we solved a problem. Boom.

Then we get to the not asking questions part: Those who know me know I'm probably one of the pickiest non-itarian eaters you'll encounter in the wild. Tonight I made a conscious effort not to ask what I was eating, or to examine it too closely: I took a small portion, tasted, and moved on. While all of the food was reasonably good, I have to say that Bourbon Bakeshop's plate was delicious: A wild mushroom risotto with dates, thyme, and toasted almonds, basil gougers, and summer vegetable compote with goat cheese was fantastic. I don't generally like mushrooms, and I've had mixed luck with vegetables and almonds but the combination was tasty, and I probably could have eaten the basil gougers (I'm still not entirely sure what a gouger actually is) all night.

Entertainment wise, I took a similar approach wandering from stage to stage without paying particular attention to the schedule. I didn't make it to all of the stages -- and the evening's entertainment was over before I could really blink -- but I saw some funny stuff (stage 20), some disturbing stuff (stage I-can't-remember), some thought provoking stuff (stage 18, The Petition Box -- a project that when I first walked in I didn't get, but reading submissions I felt compelled to add my own note to the wall).

Approaching random strangers is not something that comes easily to me but I did initiate a few conversations on my own; unfortunately none really went anywhere (One: "If I ever get married for a third time, I'm keeping it simple. I gotta pee. Nice talking to you.") and it was exceptionally difficult to tell who was with whom, but, anyway.

Once the entertainment was finished, dessert came out in the form of tables with people in the middle roving through stage 1. I've never had to chase dessert before.

Following that, I caught up with a friend from CPT who made some easy introductions and several hours of good conversation flowed. I'm glad. Taking to other humans has a distinct stress-relieving component to it.

Ok, and now I'm going to fall asleep.

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: Joffrey Ballet

Reflections (choreographed by Gearld Arpino; music: Tchaikovsky)
Age of Innocence (chor. Edwaard Liang; music: Glass and Newman)
Tarantella (chor. Blanchine, music: Gottschalk)
Pass de deux from Le Corsaire (chor. Petipa, music: Dingo)
Pretty BALLET (chor. Kudelka, music: Martinu)
Tito Munoz, conductor.

Tonight's performance was attended with my friend* and her friend; before making our way to Blossom we visited Sarah's Vineyard -- just a little south of Blossom and literally across the street -- for some food and wine. It was the first time for all three of us, and I think all of us thoroughly enjoyed the food and conversation.

Making our way across the street and into a packed pavilion we were treated to a pleasant evening of dance. Without the distraction of technical elements noted at some earlier performances -- here, the spotlight work was without reproach, and the audio amplification when used nearly transparent -- it was thoroughly enjoyable. The great thing about dance with live music is that you have stimulation for both visual and auditory senses; while my friend noted that she wished she could see the effort the orchestra was contributing to the work, as is possible when they are on stage, and oddly, as I had noted in my brief comment on last year's performance (it's near the bottom, notibly one of my first posts), the dancers provide a more fluid, and in Cleveland, less often experienced, representation of that effort.

Discussing the performance on the way back north, one topic surfaced that we all agreed on: As the program progressed, the company seemed to develop some synchronization issues where it seemed that some dancers would randomly arrive at a point noticeably before or after the rest of the troupe.

The first dance on the card, Reflections, featuring Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme, was beautifully played by the orchestra, with particular note to newly-appointed principal cellist Mark Kosower, however the dance was a bit dark for my taste.

Following Reflections, Age of Innocence finished out the first half and was brighter musically and metaphorically. Featuring the music of Philip Glass (the 2nd movement from his 3rd symphony, The Poet Acts from The Hours, 3rd movement from the 3rd symphony, music from The Secret Agent) and Thomas Newman (End Title from The Little Children) had a variety of textures, and was inspired by the social dancing found in Jane Austen's novels. Age of Innocence was my favorite piece from the program.

After intermission, a piece that felt very familiar: Balanchine's Tarantella. It wasn't until after I returned home that I realized not only have I seen this dance before, I've seen it in the past month: It was on the program for Verb Ballets' Cain Park Performance in early August. Given the almost ethereal nature of dance it's odd to me, and I had in fact never considered the possibility, of seeing the same dance performed by two different companies. Joffrey had a decided advantage with a live orchestra, and Tarantella was the favorite of the other members of my group.

In the middle of the second half was Pas de Deux from Le Corsaire. I'm not sure how I feel about this one and there was some disagreement among my group about who the players in the dance were: While the title of the piece is The Pirate it is unclear who the dancers were representing and the ballet notes do nothing to help resolve this ambiguity: The best guess that my group could arrive at is prince and princess, but as an extract from The Pirate... I'm also curious about the 'new music' added to the ballet.

Wrapping up the program was Pretty BALLET featuring Martinu's Symphony No. 2. -- since the music was premiered by our own Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall in 1943, I desperately wanted to be able to call this my favorite; in the end I couldn't. Aside from the synchronization issue I mentioned earlier, there was nothing wrong with the dance or the music, but the combination didn't really captivate me.

In the end: A nice evening of music collaborating with dance; I hope that such collaborations will be embraced and extended in the future.

Lincoln

Cain Park: Verb Ballets

Wings And Aires (1981)
Tarantella (2005)
Dust Bowl Ballads (1941)
The Fiddler (1951, excerpted from The Village I Knew)
To Have and To Hold (1989)
CLICKS Crew (2010)
Ambiguous Drives (2010)
at the Evans Amphitheater, Cain Park, Cleveland Heights

But for Wings and Aires I probably would be beginning with something about how this was a pleasant evening of dance. Unfortunately, Verb began the performance with Wings and Aires: Not only was I not moved by the dance--which bordered on eternal in length--the quality of the music was distractingly abysmal. I think the only place I've heard classical music with less dynamic range and more distortion is in the parking lot of the United Dairy Farmers convenience store across from Cain Park... where, as near as I can tell, the sole purpose is to make things unpleasant for loiterers. (It's little wonder, in that case, why classical has a bad rap among people in my general age range).

I was contemplating cutting my losses during the pause leading into Tarnatella, and I'm glad I stayed, as that piece was an interesting combination of movement and music, including some fancy footwork/cymbal playing while dancing.

Dust Bowl Ballads and The Fiddler were both acceptable, with Dust Bowl Ballads being only piece in the program where the music (By Woodie Guthrie) had lyrics that joined the story of the dance and the dance and music were an effective combination.

Rounding out the program, it is difficult to choose between To Have and Hold and Ambiguous Drives as my favorite from the evening. Both had great music, compelling movement, and at the most basic level held my interest throughout. I think To Have And To Hold wins by a narrow hair due to the unconventional but enjoyable choreography including flowing over, under, and through three benches and the other dancers. It wasn't until near the end of the dance that I wondered if the undecorated pine benches were intend to double as a symbolic coffin.

Finally, in between those two dances was CLICKS Crew featuring Verb Ballets' summer interns and students: At first it seemed a little sloppy but came together as the dance progressed and was likewise enjoyable to watch and listen to.

Lincoln

GroundWorks DanceTheater @ Cain Park (Alma Theater)

The Program: Valence, Unpublished Dialogues, Saying Yes
The Dancers: Amy Miller, Felise Bagley, Sarah Berrett, Damien Highfield, Tod VanSlambrouck

One of the many* wonderful things about living in Cleveland Heights is the community's support for the arts, possibly the most visible expression of that being Cain Park -- a 2 minute walk literally down the street from my house.

At some point late yesterday it came to my attention that GroundWorks DanceTheater was performing at Cain Park this weekend, and having been impressed by the results of the collaboration between GroundWorks, The Cleveland Play House, and The Cleveland Orchestra for A Soldier's Tale during this year's Fusion Fest I figured it seemed like a good way to spend a Saturday Evening.

So to get the less than great out of the way first: I'm not sure if it was the venue's acoustics or the sound system or simply the source material but the music struck me as over compressed or almost completely devoid of dynamic range, and didn't really contribute to the performance.

Being essentially an outdoor theater with a roof, the 90-degree outside heat translated to a sweltering audience... The dancers didn't seem to be inhibited by the heat and presented a show that only got better as the evening progressed.

Opening the evening was Valance: A piece that struck me as having a very post-industrial and dark feel, and perhaps in part due to my not reading the program notes until the conclusion of the piece didn't particularly move me, though I was intrigued by the beginning, starting with the dancers in an accelerating circle until individuals were flung by the momentum.

Following a brief pause was Unpublished Dialogues, relating to the life and death of Virginia Woolf. I was particularly intrigued by what seemed best described as a danced play, making more extensive use of props, setting, and even a relatively clear story arc than any dance I can recall seeing (aside from the aforementioned collaboration) with some whimsical moments bridging the somber conclusion (she did, after all, commit suicide) with the dance rendering spoken dialogue or narration unnecessary.

The lone piece following intermission and a world premiere, Saying Yes, was a just plain enjoyable dance with perpetual movement, pleasant music, and as far as I can tell, there being no program notes accompanying this piece, no unifying underlying story to interpret. I'm not entirely clear if the dance was intended to evoke symbolism embodied by the titles of the music: Exposed Zipper, Trans Fatty Acid's Rain, Evil Yellow Penguin, Mara's Lullaby, Evil Yellow Penguin, Mechanically Separated Chicken Parts, and Pickled Trousers; Since I wasn't watching or listening with that in mind I can't comment on that aspect.

GroundWorks has one more performance at Cain Park, 2:00 Sunday, and later this year joins with Opera Cleveland in a collaboration for Bizet's The Pearl Fishers

Lincoln
*- Others include the huge variety of local businesses, the immense walkability--including walkability to University Circle, and the diversity of just about everything: People, architecture, ...

Cleveland Orchestra: Joffrey Ballet Preview

(See this related post for tonight's Blossom Program)

Joffrey returns to Blossom Saturday and Sunday, September 4th and 5th, 2010; tickets at clevelandorchestra.com.

Before tonight's Cleveland Orchestra program, I had the privilege of attending a preview of Joffrey Ballet's upcoming performances at with the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom, hosted by Joffrey Artistic Director Ashley Wheater and The Orchestra's communications department.

It was a great glimpse of what is to come when Joffrey returns to Blossom after last year's fantastic and well-received introduction. Mr. Wheater described the partnership as almost "falling in love", "magical", and at a phenomenal venue (but Clevelanders already knew that about Blossom). Particularly striking was Mr. Wheater's comments about the open air venue equating to freedom for the dancers and audience to approach the work from a new perspective.

While all of the pieces sound interesting -- and the snippets shown look great, particularly interesting to me is "PrettyBALLET", a work that Joffrey recently premiered at its Chicago home but will be receiving its live orchestra premiere at Blossom (featuring Martinu's Second Symphony, coincidentally commissioned by Czech refugees living in Cleveland and first performed by the Cleveland Orchestra in 1943).

Likewise catching my ear was Age of Innocence, inspired by the social dancing found in Jane Austen's novels with music by Phillip Glass and Thomas Newman*

Across the program promises to span a variety of musical tastes ranging from Tchaikovsky's Cello Concerto (for Reflections) to the aforementioned Martineau and music of Phillip Glass and Thomas Newman.

I'd be remiss if I didn't also note the setting for the preview: The Blossom pavilion and stage seems like a simple structure to the naked eye, but down a backstage staircase one finds impressive depth in the facility, including dressing rooms, and for tonight's event a chorus room with a soaring ceiling with the sounds of trumpeter warming up nearby wafting in to add to the backstage atmosphere.

It should be another great program, blending great sights with great sounds.

Lincoln
*Best unknown as a film composer--Finding Nemo, The Shawshank Redemption, American Beauty, etc. Useless trivia: Son of Alfred Newman, the composer of the 20th Century Fox Fanfare used to introduce virtually all of that studio's releases.

Cleveland Play House/Cleveland Orchestra/GroundWorks DanceTheater: A Soldier's Tale (Fusion Fest 2010)

With such a veritable wealth of cultural institutions and raw talent in the Northeast Ohio area, covering nearly (if not) every possible aspect of the arts I'm surprised that collaborations don't happen more frequently. (It may be worth noting that while this performance was a sell out, I spotted several members of the Orchestra and at least one Cleveland Museum of Art staffer in the audience: This cross pollination is always a sign I take as good)

As the three institutions (The Cleveland Orchestra, The Cleveland Play House, and GroundWorks Dance Theater) proved with the performances of Catch and Release (By Esa-Pekka Salonen) A Soldier's Tale (Libretto by Kurt Vonnegut), both with music by Igor Stravinsky such collaborations can be fantastic, drawing on the strengths of the parts to produce an fascinating whole.

The venue, the blackbox-ish/3/4-round Brooks Theater was more intimate than any dance or music show I've attended (excepting house concerts, of course), and among the more intimate I've seen straight drama presented in hightened the connection between dancer, actor, musician, and audience.
The players in the pieces were also interesting: The members of the Cleveland Orchestra performing in this piece are not musicians I've heard perform in small ensemble before; with the exception of one actor, the actors were all new to me; and I've somehow never managed the pleasure of seeing GroundWorks perform.

Catch and Release was a more traditional dance number with video projected from above, and it moved with such dispatch as to make attempts to focus on any one aspect (dance, music, video) for any substantial period of time fruitless: You quickly learn to sit back and enjoy the whole. As one audience member behind me commented, "There sure was a lot of catching and releasing".

I've enjoyed reading Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions, still one of the best books I've read; Slaughterhouse Five, I may need to reread now that it's not at academic gunpoint.

A Soldier's Tale was quite well done, involving actors, dance, musicians, and video (this time on the rear wall) and sometimes blurring the line between actor and dancer. The dialogue was witty and well delivered, the music beautifully played, the dance well woven into the story. I didn't realize prior to the ending that the libretto for A Soldier's Tale was based loosely on the true story of Eddie Slovik, a World War II draftee who was executed -- the only soldier since the Civil War -- for desertion.

The only shame was that this production only saw four performances, the last of which was the one occurring this afternoon.

Musicians: Tito Munoz, conductor; Jung-Min Amy Lee, violin; Charles Carleton, bass; Robert Woolfrey, clarinet; Barrick Stees, bassoon; Jack Sutte, trumpet; Sachar Israel, trombone; Marc Damoulakis, percussion. (All members of The Cleveland Orchestra)
Cast: Robert Ellis, general; Justin Tatum, soldier; Zac Hoogendyk, MP, Lindsay Iuen, Red Cross Girl.
Dancers: Amy Miller, Felise Bagley, Kelly Brunk, Damien Highfield, Sarah Perrett (All members of GroundWorks DanceTheater)
at The Brooks Theater, Cleveland Play House.

Lincoln

Apollo's Fire: Mozart Celebration

Mozart: Overture from Idomeneo, K. 366 with concert ending by Jeanette Sorrell
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K 491; Sergei Babayan, piano.
Mozart: Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K 385 ("Haffner")
Mozart: Ballet Music from Idomeneo, K. 367

Anyone who's been reading this blog long enough knows that my Apollo's Fire concert experiences this season were polar opposites, to put it kindly. Tonight's concert in Cleveland's Severance Hall falls somewhere between the two. It was nice to hear Apollo's fire in a venue that didn't involve two hours on the painfully hard wood of a church pew. As the orchestra tuned I was struck by what a massive difference there was in sound with the Baroque A=430Hz tuning instead of the modern A=440Hz -- those 10 Hertz have a huge impact on the sound; I don't think I've noticed before because I've never heard Apollo's Fire in a venue where I've heard any other group perform prior to tonight.

The opening Overture from Idomeno was generally pleasant and a good start to the concert, but felt a little boomy, and generally felt that the balance between percussion and the rest of the orchestra was a little off.

The Piano Concerto, on the other hand, left nothing to be desired. I've heard Sergei Babayan play two solo recitals at CIM, and while an excellent pianist his work truly shines when pared with an orchestra. The balance between piano and orchestra was perfect giving the impression of a dialog between the two rather than a shouting match as often seems to be the case. Much ado was made out of the unavailability of the originally announced 1877 Bluthner pianoforte yet I can't imagine the that performance would have been any more enjoyable to listen to.

The second half of the performance included Mozart's Haffner Symphony. You may be asking "Wait, didn't you just hear the Cleveland Orchestra play that last weekend?" -- when I saw the program, that was certainly my first thought, until I realized that the program listed only four movements and has a different Köchel number, with the Symphony coming much later than the Haffner Serenade (K. 385 vs K. 250). My fears of having to compare two performances of the same work thus assuaged, it was an great piece to listen to, with the first movement holding to it's Allegro con spirito tempo notation. The second and third movements seemed to be just a touch lethargic and occasionally stiff, yet the fourth (presto) movement, which Mozart directed be played "as quickly as possible" was a burst of well paced energy.

And thus we have Ballet Music from Idomeneo to end the program with Carlos Fittante and Robin Gilbert-Campos as period dancers. I have to say that the strongest reaction I can muster is "apathetic". The music didn't particularly catch my ear, the dance didn't particularly catch my eye, and I was lulled into a somewhat hypnotic very contemplative state (where reflecting on recent events in life, including two events today, I couldn't help but think of Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts..." [As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII], my Deity certainly has me cast in a comedy at the moment.)

Lincoln

New York: Recap

I'll return you to my regularly scheduled blogging this Friday with the Heights Arts House Concert, and Saturday with the Orchestra (Interestingly, Mr. Boulez is conducting this weekend's concerts -- something I didn't realize until I found the postcard in my mailbox yesterday). For now, the recap of New York, from the comfort of my own sofa.

The last set of pictures is here, pictures from the full set are over there.

Overall: Really, New York is one of the most amazing cities on the planet and certainly the most amazing I've visited thus far. There's an infinite variety of things to do, see, hear, touch, feel. I can't wait to go back (and if I ever win the lottery, my first stop would be to buy a pied-à-terre in the City. Just next time I'm not going in the middle of January.

Lodging: Stayed at both the Waldorf-Astoria and the Hilton Times Square. The Waldorf was nice, but superficially so; the Hilton is in a great location, had fantastic views, great rooms, and an incredibly accommodating and personable staff. My next trip will definitely include the Times Square location if the rates are in the ballpark.

Transportation: The NYC MTA is an amazingly efficient and wonderfully comprehensive network, of which I only sampled a small portion. The $27 7-day unlimited ride MetroCard is quite possibly the best bargain in New York, and the MTA NYC Subway staff are some of the most courteous and helpful transportation employees I've encountered. The lone exception would be the R train Saturday morning where not only were the doors closed with a large number of passengers still trying to board, yours truly included, but the doors were closed without warning, and on a tourist who was halfway through the doors at the time (with an arm and leg outside the car) -- and didn't reopen them (Specific descriptions here, here, here, and, described by my mother as hallucinogenic, here).

Theatre, Music, Dance: Phantom Of The Opera, the New York City Ballet, Next to Normal, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. All tremendously entertaining in their own ways, and all with very full houses. Of course TKTS made prices for Phantom and Next to Normal reasonable.

Art, Culture, Randomness: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and Central Park, The Museum of Modern Art and Seghal's This Progress at the Guggenheim, possibly the most thought provoking piece of art I've encountered. Last but not least is MTA's Arts For Transit with art sprinkled throughout the stations... and opening your mind to look for art in places that you aren't expecting, like this and this.

Despite using HHonors points to pay for my three nights at the Waldorf, according to preliminary credit card statements and cash on hand, as a single traveler I contributed somewhere between $700-800 to the New York economy, about 20% more than my original expectation. It was worth it.

Lincoln

Lincoln In New York: Day 2: Lincoln Does Lincoln Center

My morning didn't exactly get off to the best start when I looked out the hotel room window and saw plenty of snowflakes flying. I then proceeded to search the hotel for the Starbucks that is suposedly somewhere on premise (and that I have three free "breakfast" vouchers for) before giving up.

Transportation.
I then hopped on the 6 train at 51st & Lex -- conveniently adjacent to the hotel with no exact destination in mind. Of all of the various lines I rode today, the 6 train was certainly the most technologically advanced. Unlike BART (and as it turns out the 1, C, N, and S trains-- though none of those were anywhere near as bad as BART), PA announcements were clearly intelligible, though I kept expecting to hear "Pardner" after the "Please stand clear of the closing door" announcements -- sounded very much like a Disney ride.

I'm amazed at how incredibly efficient New York City Transit is... my longest wait for a train was maybe 5 minutes, and my 6/S/1 and 1/S/6 routings to and from Lincoln Center were painless, though it did take some elbowing to fit on. (I will say that both Gand Central and 42nd/Times Square could use some better signage regarding locating the S train).

So anyway I took the 6 train to City Hall, wandered around in the still-falling snow for all of about 5 minutes and found my way to the N train to 5th Av/59th St. From there I walked through Central Park, until I arrived at...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
For as gigantic a collection as they have, I was supprised by how relatively little art really caught my eye. I also found the layout a little confusing -- though this is not unique to The Met. One of the things I love about the "new" Cleveland Museum of Art is that it's fairly easy to make your way through galleries such that you see every gallery once without backtracking (for example, in a clockwise fashion).

The Atrium on the American Wing gave me a glimpse of what can be expected when (if?) the Cleveland Museum's renovation/expansion is complete... it seems like an exciting space.

I had a hotdog on the steps of the Met, and when finished continued walking North until I arrived at

The Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design
Industrial Design (along with Human Factors) is one of the areas of art/design that I really dig. Unfortunately, most of the Museum is closed for renovation/expansion but the special exhibition [and the fact that they offer privileges for CMA members] made it worth the visit. The museum had a cool twist on the audio tour -- using iPod Touches loaded with video, slide shows, and interviews instead of the standard monotone stuff.

One of the designers featured in the exhibition is Milton Glaset. Mr. Glaset is a man who's work I've admired without ever knowing the man (among others the "I {heart} New York" design was his creation. In his interview he made some points that really resonated (The quote may not be exact, but it should be close enough):

If you like Mozart and I like Mozart, we already have something in common and are less likely to want to hill each other. Art is about keeping us from killing each other.

and, even more so,

A great thing about being in the arts is that the possibility for learning never disappears. You have to admit that you've never learned everything.

Another of the honorees featured in the exhibit was the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis which you may recall I visited just a few months ago.

Central Park
After leaving Cooper-Hewitt I walked to the north end of Central Park, hung a left, got to Central Park Left, and hopped on the C train headed downtown...somehow (don't push me for details) I would up on the 1 train and at

Lincoln Center (the first time).
I wandered around a bit, found some of the Juliard School buildings, and the theatre where the New York City Ballet was performing. Picked up my ticket from Will Call, then hopped back on the 1 train, and the short ride to Columbus Circle.

Lunch and Carnegie Hall
From Columbus Circle I made my way to Carnegie Hall where I purchased tickets for a the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Saturday Evening Performance and then on to Burger Joint, a well hidden, very casual, um, burger joint, in the lobby of Le Parker Meridian. After lunch I needed to be off my feet for a little while, so I came back to the hotel and got ready for

New York City Ballet's performance of Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty
At Lincoln Center. Took the 6 train from 51st/Lex to Grand Central, S from Grand Central to 42nd/times square, and 1 from Times Square to 66th/Lincoln Center. It really couldn't have been easier. Driving from my house to any of the theaters in Cleveland is more stressful and probably takes as long if not longer.

I was in the front row of the First Tier, just about 10' off center. I really don't think there were many seats with a better view. The theater was much more intimate than the seating chart made it appear and I was far enough back to see "everything" without being so far back as to not be able to see detail.

I've said it before and will say it again... I'm not qualified to comment on ballet. All I can say is that there was nothing that I thought distracted from an enjoyable experience. The dancing was well executed, the orchestra was a pleasure to listen to, etc., etc.

So then I did the 1 train to the S train to the 6 train and am back here at the hotel for the night. There are more pictures over at Flickr.

Tomorrow I'm tempted to try to get into the Met Opera to see their show, if for no other reason than to see how their surtitling system works... but I'm also tempted to try to see another show on Broadway. Ugh. Decisions, decisions. It will probably come down to if any of the shows TKTS has catch my fancy.

Lincoln

Playhouse Square: Nutcracker (Royal Winnipeg Ballet)

Ballet is perhaps the only performing art medium that I'm less qualified to comment on than Opera.

I enjoy ballet for artistic reasons (the music and grace of the human body in motion) and I'm-a-guy-so-shoot-me reasons (ballet dancers are, as a whole, a very attractive group physically). There's not much of a professional ballet presence, that I've found at least, in greater Cleveland. Sure there's plenty of contemporary dance but I just don't find it as compelling as ballet.

Tonight's performance marked the fourth time I've seen the Nutcracker; the first was 3 years ago here in Cleveland at Playhouse Square... The past two years were in Southern California. I don't remember much of the original Playhouse Square performance besides a general enjoyment; the California performances were, in a word, awful. (Any time the director's note implies "The original story doesn't make any sense, so I decided to fix that" by completely reordering things RUN.)

Fast forward to tonight.

The performance was the most innovative staging of the four. The first act flew by and held my undivided attention. There was a hideous, prolonged noise at one point where the mouse king was doing his thing, but giving the benefit of the doubt it could have been an intentional sound effect.

The 2nd act was, as it should be, dancing for dancing sake and my interest was fading rapidly by the time the finale rolled around. The end of the Nutcracker has always felt like the story arc was left incomplete...this staging I felt much better about, but still felt like it was missing part of the resolution.

The music produced by the orchestra in the pit was fantastic. For whatever reason it was amplified and I was a little distracted by hearing the violins (through a speaker) coming from my right instead of the left which is what I am accustomed to. I have a feeling I was the only one in the audience who noticed, and aside from the "oh, that's odd" feeling it wasn't remarkable.

Of course, much of the music from the Nutcracker has fallen into the category of "holiday staple" divorced from its relationship to the ballet (dum-dum-da-da-dum-dummmmm). Sitting there I had to wonder if Mr. Tchaikovsky had any inclination while he was composing of the enduring and wide-spread popularity the piece would enjoy... for that matter if any of the great dead ones -- be it Shakespeare or Beethoven -- knew the endurance of their work.

Have you done anything enduring?

Lincoln

Minneapolis... and Ballroom Dance

You know you haven't had any caffeine when... you try using a Hudson News receipt to board a flight. That's right, I am not a morning person, and me in public without caffiene at 7:00 in the morning is either not pretty or hysterically funny depending on your point of view.

In any event, I got to Minneapolis not long after 8:00 (local) this morning and don't actually meet the client until 9:00 tomorrow. I've changed planes in Minneapolis a few times, and actually left the airport once but didn't have any spare time. Today I saw the city.

Started at the Mall of America. 10:00ish on a Tuesday morning is not when it's in its element. My inital reaction was "Eh, it's a mall. It's not even really that big. Ok."

Then I made my way over to the Northwest Airlines History Centre, which is run by retiree volunteers -- it's pretty small, but for an aviation/technology geek they had some cool stuff; I just wish I could have gotten my hands on some of the documents in the cases to page through them and see how much different things are. Also saw my first two teletype machines in living life. I thought it was cool.

From there I found my way to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts which was almost overwhelming in scale and had no clear path that would take you to each gallery; at the Cleveland Museum of Art I get lost in my thoughts... here I just kind of got lost. I'm still not a huge fan of African or Asian art, but the MIA has a respective collection of Asian art, and their iAffrica experiemntal gallery is the first African art exhibit where I've actually felt some connection and understanding of the art and its background.

As I progressed through the galleries, I hit some "period rooms" which were interesting for their context; and, predictably, the pieces I most enjoyed were in the modern/contemporary/impressionist galleries. Here, like at SFMoMA, it was interesting to see companion works to works in the CMA collection -- and it was fun to play the "Oh, that looks like ______.... oh, it IS ______!" game -- especially with the Leger piece.

I could go on, but suffice it to say that it was an enjoyable experience. I was also interested to learn the Marcel Bruer, who I knew as a "Brutalist" architect (in fact, the architect for a few buildings in Cleveland, including an earlier expansion at CMA) had done some furniture design as well.

After leaving MIA I drifted to the Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, and it turns out that they offer reciprocity to CMA members. The collection -- or at least the portion of the collection on display in the galleries is far from huge, but it is impressive and pretty right on for my tastes.

I spent a brief time exploring the Sculpture Garden but the weather (there is actually snow on the ground here) and my clothing did not lend themselves to long periods of contemplation. It's definitely a worth-doing-in-the-Summer thing.

And finally I drove to Rochester, MN and checked into the hotel. End of day 1; I don't think that there will be anything blog-worthy for the rest of this trip so the next you will hear from me will be after Saturday evening's Orchestra performance.

But, before I go: I finally cashed in a gift certificate for ballroom dance lessons that I've been sitting on. I had the first lesson last night and it went remarkibly well. I only stepped on the instructor's foot once, and generally speaking (as long as I can keep my left and right foot straight) it was a successful endeavor, especially considering that I have never attempted anything resembling dance before.