More on the Jerome Robbins exhibit!

The Jerome Robbins exhibit I posted about previously opened today! I was at work all day (and well into the evening!) and missed a chance to stop by.

My not-boss-but-sort-of-boss Greg e-mailed me this great post by Howard Kissel at The Cultural Tourist about the show! You can read his experiences at the press preview here. Thanks Greg!

We applaud you KS.

I’ve been posting some of the NYCB videos on this blog–especially of dancers that the Mobile audiences could recognize (surprisingly my readership for this blog feels split down the middle–readers from both New York and Mobile).

What I’ve been failing to do, in the meantime, is point out how awesome a job Kristin Sloan (founder of The Winger) has done! The videos are the perfect size, the scenes really reveal of the dancers’ personalities, and the music very hip and selected well. I’ve been watching them avidly.  

 You can check them out by clicking here.  I wonder if they are going to keep making them through the next season?

Spotted: James Gandolfini at Veniero’s!

So much happened today–but the highlight was hitting Veniero’s bakery with my aunt! We were standing in line chatting aimlessly, when James Gandolfini (from “The Sopranos”) reached in front of my aunt to take a number and said “Thank You” since we were mid-conversation! He stood by us in line for forever (going in and out once or twice) then finally reached between us again to get to a cheesecake and while balancing it, pretended to drop it and we laughed.

He went to pay for his cheesecake and started talking up a cute little 11-year-old girl, and when he rung up, stood behind me in line (between my aunt and I)! I didn’t notice that he had come back until I realized that everyone was looking at me and smiling. When I left I prayed to God I hadn’t been talking about anything stupid!

It was very cool.

I’ll write more about my day later including: my walk at Columbia’s campus, ice cream and lunch on the upper west side, and viewing the pillow fight in Union Square!

We get excited easily.

Dione and I are so urgent with our dance information. The tiniest bit of news will have us playing phone tag all day long.

After and e-mail from Philip; yesterday became one of those days. Dione and I were on the phone frantically in the afternoon. With the way we were chatting you’d think that something huge happened–but really all we were excited about was the video below of Daniel Ulbricht and Megan Fairchild. I’m sure Dione will pass it on to the Mobile Ballet girls, who still swoon when they talk about him.

Jerome Robbins exhibit to open March 25th!

I’ve been in and out of the library all week, and kept noticing ABT posters and tutu’s strewn about the hallways! I knew it had to be something dance related, so I jumped on the net to find out that the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center is opening an exhibit on Jerome Robbins on March 25th!  I can’t wait for it to open!

For more details, visit their site here.

Recently heard…

“I’m only a ballet dancer. Why would they want to meet me?”

- Darcey Bussell.

New York City Opera saves the day–er, night.

I’ve had a rough week. There was good news yesterday, but it was instantly down played by larger drama.

Art has a way of bringing me “back” when things get muddled. When I’m nervous, I blast the fourth movement of Tchaikovsky’s fifth. When I want to relax I put on something soft, and when I want to dream anything by Rachmaninoff will do.

I planned to devote Thursday night to a show in hopes of salvaging an otherwise dismal week. I had too many options: Bach playing at the Phil, something-or-other at Carnegie Hall, and a free concert at the library.

I gave up after an evening at the library and returned home. If not for the New York City Opera’s broadcast of “Madame Butterfly” I would have spent the whole evening whimpering that I wasn’t hearing Joshua Bell and the MSO.

By the way, did any Mobilians that read this blog attend? I’m dying to know what happened!

Joshua Bell and the MSO…

Something I’ve always wanted to happen will happen on today: Joshua Bell is performing in my hometown. Ironically, I won’t be there to hear what I consider the most wonderful interpretation of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto, but I’m so excited for Mobile and for the Mobile Symphony Orchestra!

I was scheduled to interview Joshua for the Mobile Press-Register, but it kept getting postponed. However, I was thrilled to see that Kris Pierceat WHIL did, and you can listen to the whole interview via there website podcast page by clicking here.

Arnold Rawls comments…

Just in case you missed it, opera vocalist Arnold Rawls commented on my post about Hal France.

For the Mobilians: Rawls sung “Calaf” in a stellar 2003 production of Puccini’s “Turandot” with the Mobile Opera. It’s such an honor to have him reading this blog!

Dance tid-bits…

- Baryshnikov is showing a set of photographs and was interviewed about his work by New York Magazine. Readable here.

- Time Out New York picks signature scents for the City Ballet dancers–which turned out to be very illustrative of their stage persona’s. You can view those scents here.

- You can keep up with City Ballet in the UK by reading the NY Times Arts Beat blog viewable here.