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Forward to Petipa

“Honestly, I just can’t stand seeing productions of the classics any more, because I know how far it is from Petipa’s intentions,” Alexei Ratmansky told me a few months back, when we began discussing preparations for his new Sleeping Beauty, based largely on his interpretation of historical sources. He said many other things too. You’ll find them here, in this extensive q&a.

 

Alexei Ratmansky in Sleeping Beauty rehearsal.Photo by Rosalie O'Connor.
Alexei Ratmansky in Sleeping Beauty rehearsal.Photo by Rosalie O’Connor.
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A Conversation with Doug Fullington

A page of Stepanov notation (left) and Doug Fullington’s translation (right). It’s part of the action/mime from Paquita Act I. © Images courtesy Doug Fullington.
A page of Stepanov notation (left) and Doug Fullington’s translation (right). It’s part of the action/mime from Paquita Act I. © Images courtesy Doug Fullington.

When I was preparing for an article for Dance Magazine, Doug Fullington, who runs the audience education programming at Pacific Northwest ballet, and I talked about the recent renewal of interest in the use of nineteenth and early twentieth-century ballet notations. Some excerpts of that conversation are here, on DanceTabs.