Local dancer turns Radio City Rockette

Inspired by movement, driven by dreams, Rockettes rehearse six days a week, six hours a day to get ready for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. As professional athletes, the dancers are expected to perfect their challenging routines with 35 other dancers. 

That means being in tip-top shape before hitting the stage. Abigail Gatlin, has been preparing her entire life for the opportunity to blend fitness, fashion and love of dance into an extraordinary dance performance that can only be realized in the stylized choreography of a Rockette. The Cleveland High School honor student began to study dance with Paula Duff Dance Studio during the summers. 

She studied at Ballet Magnificat in Jackson, Miss., at North Carolina School of the Arts and the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. As a junior in high school Gatlin spent a week of training at a Rockette Summer Intensive in Houston for aspiring dancers. 

Acceptance into the training program is a crucial step in becoming a Rockette. Since the inception of the Summer Intensive in 2001, less than 60 dancers have gone through the program and gone on to become world-famous Rockettes.

Read more: Cleveland Daily Banner - Local dancer turns Radio City Rockette 

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S.F. Ballet Reigns With Nutcracker

Tchaikovsky, rats, swords, tutus and all manner of fantasy regalia, onstage and off, reigned supreme last weekend as Nutcracker season began at the San Francisco Ballet and San Jose Ballet. San Francisco Ballet had a fine opening night Friday in this eighth season of Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson’s version, set in 1915 San Francisco, of the holiday classic. The cast was uniformly accomplished and generally enthusiastic. Frances Chung was a particular standout, however. Beautifully partnered by Davit Karapetyan in the Grand Pas de Deux, Chung, one of the company’s more recently anointed ballerinas, performed with a new confidence that showed in the warmth of her demeanor. Her speedy fouettes, as well as her willingness to risk everything in the climactic fish dive (it sounds better in French: temps de poisson) delighted the crowd.

But before all that, there’s the scene-setting, where you can almost smell the wintry chill in the streets, dispelled by the glowing houses on the hills, wherein party the well-mannered one per cent in all their holiday finery. At least at the Stahlbaums’ manse, there’s an old clockmaker, Uncle Drosselmeier (played by Damien Smith with pleasing craft and a twinkling eye), to shake things up a bit during the holiday rituals of socializing, flirting, dancing, and gift-giving. Thanks to Drosselmeier, dolls in Christmas boxes come to life (Lonnie Weeks, the clown; Clara Blanco, the soubrette; and Hansuke Yamamoto, the soldier).

Read more: http://www.sfcv.org/reviews/san-francisco-ballet/sf-ballet-reigns-with-nutcracker

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NYC Ballet forges the art form's future

The following script is from "The New York City Ballet" which aired on Nov. 25, 2012. Lesley Stahl is the correspondent. Ruth Streeter and Terry Manning, producers.

The New York City Ballet is America's largest and, some would say, finest ballet company in the world. The dancers are like the New York Yankees in tutus and tights.

They are artists and athletes at the same time and it is a marvel to see them up close, as you will tonight. Most of them are home grown in the U.S.A.

Full disclosure: I am a big fan and even served on the board of the New York City Ballet, which was founded in 1948 by the great choreographer George Balanchine. He revolutionized classical dance and ushered in a golden age as ballet master of the company.

Now, at a time when many cultural institutions are under stress, we went behind the scenes to see how this company is keeping this elegant art form alive.

The dancers at the New York City Ballet epitomize the beauty, athleticism, the seeming effortlessness and the grace of classical ballet. Saving it from becoming a dying art form has fallen on the shoulders of this man, Peter Martins, ballet master in chief of the NYC Ballet since 1983.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57552076/nyc-ballet-forges-the-art-forms-future/

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A Pinch-Hitting Tenor and a Soprano’s Debut on a Trip to Old Egypt ‘Aida’ at Metropolitan Opera

For any opera house, scheduling Verdi’s “Aida” is a safe enough bet. The real danger lies in the casting. At the season premiere of Sonja Frisell’s handsome 1988 production for the Metropolitan Opera on Friday evening the company fielded a trio of soloists of impressive vocal power and stamina. For Liudmyla Monastyrska, who brought her voluptuous soprano to the title role, it was a triumphant house debut. For Carl Tanner, stepping in at the last minute for the ailing tenor Marco Berti, it was a felicitous return after his appearance in Puccini’s “Fanciulla del West” two years ago.

Ms. Frisell’s production, in use for almost a quarter century, is like a large, well-built but rudderless ship. While the absence of dramatic direction made for some static ensemble scenes, the combined fervor of Olga Borodina as Amneris and Fabio Luisi at the helm of a fired-up orchestra nevertheless made for an electrically charged and energetic performance.

From his demanding opening aria, “Celeste Aida,” Mr. Tanner left no doubt about his prowess, singing with a firm, generously sized voice and producing clarion top notes. His phrasing sometimes bordered on the formulaic, but his final duet with Ms. Monastyrska was tenderly delivered.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/arts/music/aida-at-metropolitan-opera.html?ref=metropolitanopera

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BOSTON — The costumes are lighter and leaner to showcase new choreography, Herr Drosselmeyer has been sexied up with a silk corduroy tailcoat and shag ’do and there is a fresco of the Sun King in Act II’s Palace of Sweets.

Thanks to skillful work by designer Robert Perdziola, Boston Ballet’s new $3 million version of “Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker” has brought a fresh delicacy and sophistication to the Christmas classic while preserving every ounce of the tradition.

Perdziola’s new sets and costumes, which will make their debut Friday at the Boston Opera House, demonstrate a masterful use of lush detail and a keen understanding of the drama that can be conveyed by an ascot tied a certain way. In fact Perdziola, whose credits span from The Metropolitan Opera to Hollywood, knows his way around an ascot: “Interview witha Vampire” and “The Age of Innocence” are two of his big screen credits.

“We needed to serve the goddess of dance in a new way,” says artistic director Nissinen, describing his goal of eliminating the sugary fizz of the previous production, which premiered in 1995. He asked Perdziola for a more controlled, urbane color palette and sleeker costumes to better reveal the dancers’ bodies, but insisted the final result remain recognizable to the ballet’s considerable fan base.

“When I look at all the ‘Nutcrackers’ that are taking place today, so many productions are about ‘new on new on new’ —almost at the expense of what ‘The Nutcracker’ is about,” Nissinen reflects. “We’ve tried to get back to the heart and roots of why it has survived all these years. I don’t look at this as a revolutionary version, but more like a very well-detailed and researched version.”

Read more: http://www.bostonballet.org/News/Sugar_with_Spice.html

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Elf the Broadway Musical

In recent years it seems that before the rush and frantic Thanksgiving Holiday even ends, grocery stores all over the nation are already putting out some of their greatest Christmas Holiday deals. Typically this would bother me, as I am more of the "take it slow" kind of gal, who enjoys to bask in the every moment of each and every individual holiday. However! This gal isn't complaining this year as the Elf Musical by Broadway is out and about, keeping audiences laughing and enjoying every second of life! Elf, the Broadway Musical is one of my all time favorite Broadway productions as it tells the hilarious story of a quirky elf named Buddy. His story is rather unfortunate yet keeps us laughing from start to finish. Buddy's story begins when he discovers that he's actually a human, hence why his tall stature doesn't fit in to the "elf-size norm", and that he ended up in the North Pole many years ago when he accidentally ended up in Santa's bag of gifts. So, upon this discovery, Buddy decides he'll go back to his roots and find his long lost family- in the fast and forever growing city of New York. There he discovers that his biological father doesn't actually believe in the Christmas Spirit, thus Buddy makes it his life mission to get his family to believe. From there, Buddy's story unraveles into amazing friendships, love, and imagination. Fall in love with this incredible story of Buddy the Elf in Broadway's fantastic musical production Elf. Buy the best tickets from ClickTicket.com at: http://clickticket.com/performer/elf-tickets

Be sure to read more about the Broadway production news and information via the official website at: http://www.elfmusical.com/

American Music Awards

Thought I'd switch up the direction I usually take with my blogs for just a day. The American Music awards are coming up and I'm very excited about them as one of my all time favorite country music stars is performing. Taylor Swift, I think, is one of the greatest country music starlets in the world. I love her catchy songs, her style, her beauty- just about everything about her. Its amazing because there sure is a lot of talent out there these days- talent that either makes it or breaks it, and I believe the young Taylor Swift did both- in the good way. I just love her American Sweetheart ways and her lyrics are touching and speak wonders to the listner. She's a small town, grew up on a Christmas tree farm kind of gal which I totally dig about her.

Here's a little sneak peak of some of Taylor's greatest hits of all time with complementary YouTube music videos:
1. "You Belong With Me" 2009- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw
2. "Love Story" 2008- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xg3vE8Ie_E
3. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" 2012- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA4iX5D9Z64
4. "Teardrops Of My Guitar" 2007- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKCek6_dB0M
5. "Back to December" 2010- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUwxKWT6m7U
6. "Our Song" 2007- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb2stN7kH28
7. "Eyes Open" 2012- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hsVICl7d8k
8. "Tim McGraw" 2006- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkD20ajVxnY

Check out this blond hair, blue eyes starlet via her official website at: http://taylorswift.com/

Be sure to make it to the American Music Awards with the best tickets for the best prices via ClickTicket.com at: http://clickticket.com/performer/american-music-awards-tickets

Make your vote count and vote for your favorite artist via the ABC official website for the American Music Awards at: http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/american-music-awards