DAE News: September 15, 2003
Contents:
Another opening, another show. Our tenth, in fact. Time flies when you're having fun. For auction bidders, there's been a flurry of activity, but there are some bargains to be had - swoop in and grab an unbidden item!
Which night to go? It's hard for us to project walk-up sales, but you should be able to get a seat at any performance. So far, Thursday is most crowded. Other things to know:
If you're calling the box office (212) 870-6784, it opens on Tuesday and it is open from 4-8pm and on Sunday at 12 pm. Tickets are general admission and seats are first-come, first-served.
Our "Bring a Friend Discount" for the show ends TODAY (9/15). Buy two regular tickets, get one free.
Please note: This discount is no longer available.
If you're requesting guest or press seating email us and your name will be left at the box office. Please give us 24 hours notice so that we can accommodate you quickly at the theater.
If you are requesting a "Starving Artist" Discount - you must email us 48 hours before the show and you CANNOT get this ticket at the box office. It's only available as a prepaid, nonrefundable offer.
Want to know how to get there? http://www.danceasever.org/DAEconcerts.htm#directions
Want to go with a group? Email us (please give us 48 hours) and we'll link you up with a host for dinner before. We've got hosts from both the ballet and the knitting world. The big night for that is Friday.
Want more information about the show? We've got a FAQ right here. www.danceasever.org/DAEconcerts.htm#faqs
What's the biggest bargain on our web site? The DAE Raffle. It's $5 per ticket, top prize is a week in a time share, we've got gift certificates for knitters and non-knitters ($150 at a restaurant, a 45 minute massage, lots of knitting merchandise!) And you've got a real chance to win. You can print your tickets out right at the webster (www.danceasever.org/DAEraffle.htm) and pay for them with Paypal.
Here's a report from Our Fabulous Auction Coordinator, Mary LoSardo - but first. . .WHY HASN'T ANYONE BID ON MY HAT? WAAAAAAAAH! I think you like seeing artistic directors devastated.
Mary: We've some great bargain opportunities for bidders that are too good to pass up. Several of them came in within the past few weeks and you may not have seen them. In addition to Leigh's thus far unloved (but lovable) hat, there's a great Oddball Hat from Margo Lynn Hablutzel. We've a wide selection of scarves from Val Clark, Margo Lynn Hablutzel and two from Heather Broadhurst (one with a matching cap). Don't forget the spacious Felted Tote Bag from Eve Ng; Children's Watermelon Socks by Judy Sumner, and Mary Lee Herrick's Kaffe Fassett-inspired Cardigan. And just this weekend, Bonnie Franz sent us two of the garments that appeared in recent issues of her "Stranded" newsletter. The Peace Jacket already has a bid but the gorgeous River Vest - a New Zealand Fair Isle - is ready to be grabbed up! See them all (and place a bid!) at www.danceasever.org/DAEauction.htm.
LAW chimes back in: I've only seen a picture of the River Vest, but it looks just gorgeous! Somebody grab this one. And let's not forget Arnold van Fossen's Christmas Tree - we guarantee visions of Sugarplums will dance in your head. That, or you'll need to increase your medication. And Margaret Radcliffe's hand knit thongs. You need a hand knit thong. You just didn't know it yet. Not in your size? Not to worry - we can custom make them!
The final days. Scheduling, scheduling, scheduling; Abe unfortunately had to cope with a funeral and Robert had an allergic reaction that made his leg inflate; quite a trick! At least this all seemed to happen on the same days, but the first day I had an uninterrupted rehearsal with the full cast was Thursday. Alexandra was in Copenhagen on Monday, rehearsed with me on Wednesday and was in Paris the next day. I'll see her next. . .at dress rehearsal.
The interesting thing about the evolution of any ballet is at what point it takes shape. Shropshire, for instance, never changed from the ballet it wanted to be before I walked in the studio door the first time. Rideau didn't look like itself until the day before performance when curtain was added into the dance. Alexandra's solo (finally titled The Pause on the Way Down) is more like Shropshire; The New Rome is much more like Rideau, perhaps even more changeable. Mat Maneri, the violinist, came in and played bits of the score for us that we had heard up until now only on synthesizer. I knew the sonorities would be different, but it's still a shock. It's not just recognizing the musical cues; like Equilibrium from last year (choreographed to piano, played on cello) the impulses I got from the synthesized recording to make the dance are different. That sounds more ominous than I mean it to - the score sounds infinitely better on acoustic instruments.
The dancers are doing well - the real tests come when we get to the theater and choreography that worked in the studio now faces the additional hurdles of costumes, scenery and especially lights. Bright lights that can blind you at the worst possible moment.
As for myself, I've got to focus on both major issues and trivia right now; cleaning and refining the ballets but also making sure I have suitable outfits for the performances. Rehearsing the dancers but also getting the program to the printers. I'd like a staff; I'd like a wife - of either sex, as long as someone else did the cooking and cleaning instead of it not getting done at all.
See you at the performances!
As ever,
LAW
Leigh Witchel [dae@panix.com]
Alexandra Ansanelli and Peter Boal perform with Dance as Ever 9/18-21, 2003 at the Theatre of the Riverside Church, New York, NY. For more information visit http://www.danceasever.org.
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