Category Archives: Ballet

Un bouton de manchette

Posted on March 8, 2015 by Patricia Gilbert

I recently turned twenty-nine-and-a-half and my husband pulled out all the stops. After all, it’s not every day that one turns twenty-nine-and-a-half for the first time. One of the events that he planned was a matinee performance of Lady of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballet | Tagged Alexandre Dumas fils, Boston Ballet, boutons de manchette, Frédéric Chopin, La Dame aux camélias, Lady of Camellias, Val Caniparoli | 2 Comments

Mettre les bâtons dans les roues

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Patricia Gilbert

The soundtrack to Louis XIV’s life was written by Italian-born composer Jean-Baptiste Lully. Lully was born November 28, 1832 in Florence, Italy. He was brought to France as a boy where he worked scrubbing pots in the kitchen of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballet, Music, People | Tagged Baroque music, French composer, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Louis XIV, Mademoiselle de Montpensier, mettre les bâtons dans les roues, Molière | Leave a comment

L’échapper belle

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Patricia Gilbert

Portrait by Snowdon Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev defected to the west at the Paris airport of Le Bourget on June 16, 1961, fifty years ago. He was in Paris with the Kirov ballet’s European tour. Apparently, the KGB suspected that Nureyev … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballet, People | Tagged Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, culture minister Jack Lang, L’échapper belle, Opera Ballet, Royal Ballet, Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev, Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois | Leave a comment

Le train-train

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Patricia Gilbert

Jean-Georges Noverre was born on April 29, 1727. As he is considered to be the inventor of modern ballet, his birthday is celebrated as International Dance Day. His father was a Swiss soldier and his parents intended Noverre to follow … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballet, People | Tagged flash mob Toronto Eaton Centre, French idiom, French Revolution, International Dance Day, Le train-train, Les Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets, Marie Antoinette, Paris Opera | Leave a comment

Faire des pieds et des mains

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Patricia Gilbert

Benjamin Millepied’s ballet This Part in Darkness premiered this weekend in Philadelphia. The Bordeaux native, choreographer and dancer of Black Swan fame, created the ballet as a thank-you to the Pennsylvania Ballet for loaning him 14 dancers for the Oscar-winning … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballet, People | Tagged Benjamin Millepied, Black Swan, Faire des pieds et des mains, Merriam Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, Pierced, PIFA, This Part in Darkness | Leave a comment

Prendre sa retraite

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Patricia Gilbert

Martha Chamberlain, principal dancer with the Pennsylvania Ballet, retired at today’s matinée performance of a Balanchine / Gershwin Collaboration Who Cares?. The familiar tunes were a lively backdrop to choreography that had the audience roaring its approval (or at least … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballet, People | Tagged Balanchine, French idiom, George Gershwin, Martha Chamberlain, Pennsylvania Ballet, Prendre sa retraite, Who Cares | Leave a comment

Il faut le voir pour le croire

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Patricia Gilbert

The interior of the Kimmel Center, home to the Philadelphia Orchestra, has been transformed into April in Paris, including an 81 foot Eiffel Tower. This is all part of the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts. The calendar of events … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballet, Events, Music | Tagged Eiffel Tower, il faut le voir pour le croire, Kimmel Center, Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, Philadelphia Orchestra, PIFA | Leave a comment

Un coup de foudre

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Patricia Gilbert

I saw the Pennsylvania Ballet’s Swan Lake today. It was so beautiful! Of course, Tchaikovsky’s sweeping music carries the audience and dancers to the tragic conclusion, but the setting of this production was quite different. Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon inserted the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballet | Tagged Christopher Wheeldon, Edgar Degar, Folies Bergères, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Odette, Odile, Pennsylvania Ballet, Prince Siegfried, Un coup de foudre | Leave a comment

Ne pas savoir sur quel pied danser

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Patricia Gilbert

I did not attend a Super Bowl event today. I don’t even know who is playing. I did, however, along with my extremely kind husband, attend “Classic Innovations” at the Merriam Theatre in Philadelphia, presented by the Pennsylvania Ballet. This … Continue reading →