Stravinsky Costume Renderings

Last time we talked about all the amazing collaborators that are coming together to bring The Stravinsky Project to the stage. Choreographers, composers, designers - when you count them all up we have over a half dozen for this one world premiere.

As promised, we are revealing some of the original costume renderings for The Stravinsky Project from designer Morgan Walker. Feast your eyes on these beauties...







First of all, I am in love with these drawings. The sketches are so gorgeous it reminds me of my favorite time during each episode of Project Runway when everyone hunkers down for a mere seven minutes and produces amazing sketches like it's nothing. Also, these are the most avant-garde costumes to come out of the OBT costume shop in some time, maybe ever. Second runner up might be these from Julia Adam's Angelo, which featured removable felt panels - but they are still pretty standard compared to these Stravinsky renderings.

Just as fascinating are the references I'm seeing in the drawings: can-can girls, kits, hoop skirts... superheros? What else do you see?


The Stravinsky Project runs February 26 to March 5 at Portland's Keller Auditorium.

More posts about The Stravinsky Project | Buy Tickets to The Stravinsky Project

Day Six...and Seven: HOME!

After a very successful engagement, it was time to go home. Here's a photo montage of the process it took to get there.


2:45 PM--Alison Roper and company wait in the lobby of our hotel, the State Plaza, for our shuttle to make a 5:45 PM flight. We play Scrabble, talk, run to the neighboring grocery store to stock up on some snacks for the long flight back to Portland. Estimated arrival time in Portland: 11 PM


6:30 PM--Here, Ilir, Brennan and Yuka wait for our tentative flight. Upon checking in, we learn that our flight has already been delayed due to mechanical problems. As we wait at the gate, the Scrabble games continue, phone calls ensue, and we spend many hours trying to come up with things that will pass the time. Here's one thing to pass the time:

In this photo: Lucas styles Anne's hair. Desperate times call for desperate activities.


9:00 PM--We learn in half-hour increments that our flight is slowly fading away. Here we learn that the flight has now been delayed until 11:00 PM. Naps ensue.



1:30 AM--Here Ronnie, Artur, Anne, Grace, Ansa, and Brennan sport their disheveled looks. It's 1:30 and we're in Chicago, waiting for our shuttle to shuttle us to the Sleep Inn. We are expected to report back to the airport for our flight from Chicago to Portland later that morning at about 6:00 AM.

1:50 AM-- Anne checks us into the Sleep Inn. And all we want to do is sleep in...

2:00 AM--Hunger strikes. And though we know we will probably feel worse after a visit to McDonald's, we need some remnant of food in our bellies to get us through the night/morning. And we were car-less, so we walked through the drive through. Yuka gently knocked on the window and startled the woman working the drive through. We told her that we'd been on a plane all day and were in need to food, but we didn't have a car. She kindly complied with our request for food.

2:10 AM--ordering through the window...


The next morning at 6:00 AM, we all piled into the shuttle again and made our way back to the airport. I thought it kind not to shoot any photos at such and hour. We made our connection, about twelve hours late, but at least we made it!

When we saw Mount Rainier, we knew we were on the right side of the country. Finally!

In other news regarding our fantastic week, the reviews are in!

The Washington Post review:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/15/AR2008061501932.html

The New York Times review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/arts/dance/17amer.html?_r=1&ref=dance&oref=slogin

It's great to be so well received. Thanks for traveling on with us on our first (of hopefully many) tour to the Kennedy Center.

Day Four: a bit of tourism

Photo: The Lincoln Memorial

A day of rest! Last night was fantastic. It was such a RUSH (get it? ha) to be on stage at the Kennedy Center sharing the stage with the phenomenal Boston and Joffrey Ballets and to make our debut! It was a blast. But after a very long day and a great performance, it was nice to have a day off to play tourist.

We had class this morning with the Mikko Nissenen, artistic director of Boston Ballet. One of my favorite parts of this tour is taking classes with the other companies, but also to have class from different directors. And OBT's been fortunate enough to have two collaborations this season, the first being the 4x4 Whitebird Series with San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and the Eugene Ballet Company, and the second being the Ballet Across America festival. Getting to dance with other companies feels like playing, like summer camp for professional dancers.

Post class I saw some sights and sounds of the district. My family (including my aunt, grandmother, mother and father) took the Metro train to Arlington Cemetery, and from there got on a tour bus to see the Washington Mall.

My favorite stop along the way was the Lincoln Memorial. DC has so much history, and it was nice to hear some of the details behind all of the fantastic buildings.


I realized as we were leaving and looking across to the Washington Monument that the Lincoln Memorial was where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. I've always had an affinity for Dr. King, as we share the same birthday (January 15), and because he's a dreamer. I think the Lincoln Memorial holds a peacefulness above the some other monuments.



On a final note, my "merde" for Candace, my partner, on our opening night included a JFK quote: "Dream things that never were." I wrote in my note that there were several things I never dreamed of, and dancing at the Kennedy Center was one of them. It appears that Washington DC is place that was built on dreams and ideals, and it's cool to see that reflected in my own life.

Final performance tomorrow. It will no doubt be special.

Day Three: The Big Show!

So, I thought I would start this post with some pictures from my walk to the Kennedy Center from the hotel.This is right outside our front entrance. I love all the old brick buildings in the area we are staying. It's been so sunny since we've been here (except today, it just started raining) and it's been such a nice change from the dreary Oregon weather we've been having.
Walking down Virginia Ave. You can just see the Watergate complex in the background.
A closer view of the Watergate complex. I had no idea how much stuff there was in the Watergate. There's a Safeway and a CVS plus a multitude of restaurants, offices, and a hotel. Very cool.
The Kennedy Center on the left and Watergate on the right.
A close-up of the Kennedy Center. I had only been here once before on a school trip and I had completely forgotten how enormous it is. It's such a spectacular facility for both the performers and the audience. There is everything you could ever imagine needing here and everyone has been so kind and efficient.

We had class at 10am followed by a quick walk-through of the ballet to refresh our memories of all the notes we were given the day before. After that we had a break for some food and to get into our costumes and do our hair and make-up. We then walked through the ballet on stage with the orchestra (I love live music!!) and then we did a full run.Ilir, Lucas, Matthew, and Brian all sitting in our dressing room. We each have out own individual mirrors with lights that turn on and off independently of the lights around other peoples mirrors. At the Keller you either have all the lights on a bank of mirrors on or off and it can make the room very hot very quickly.
My mirror spot. You can see all my make-up and everything organized below and various gifts I've received up on the mirrors. The stuff on the mirror I pack in my make-up case and take with me everywhere I perform. There is a picture of Suzanne Farrell I got from my friend Patrick, the merde gift I received for Vertiginous Thrill from Noah Gelber (the person who set the Vertiginous on us), that's the fake facial hair in the bottom right corner of the mirrro, and the wrapper from a Dove chocolate I had backstage up at PNB during the Celebrate Seattle Festival last season that says "Be Fearless." I always try to keep my mirror spot as organized as possible because I don't want to worry about not finding something right before a show. I always find the more orderly and methodical my preparation for a performance is, the more relaxed and ready for the show I feel.

After our dress rehearsal Adrian and I had to go back to the hotel to get our outfits together for the post-performance reception. We then ended up having lunch/dinner with Jon Ulsh in the hotel's restaurant. It's always so interesting to hear about the non-dance aspects of making this company work and really makes me feel like I'm better able to understand how and where I fit into the organization aside from just "soloist." So, after we ate we walked back to the Kennedy Center to get ready for the show.
Two great quotes from Kennedy that Adrian and I noticed carved on the side of the building: "This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor." And "To further the appreciation of culture among all the people. To increase respect for the creative individual. To widen participation in all the processes and fulfillments of arts - this is one of the fascinating challenges of these days."
This was the first quote we spotted and I got goosebumps when I read it. "I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well." It's so inspirational to hear that someone who lead our country had such a strong dedication to nurturing the arts.
A view of the Opera House where we're performing. It looks big in this picture, but in reality it's a very comfortable size.
The incredible chandelier. I spent about five minutes staring at it when I first saw it. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but I don't know that any picture could.
Adrian, Ronnie, Brian, Ansa, and Holly warming up for the show. There is only a three minute pause to run on stage and jump around before we start our ballet, so we have to do a lot of warming up and reviewing during the ballet before ours. Having a pause instead of an intermission can be very disorienting because you don't really have a chance to be in the space and get grounded like you do when you have a full twenty minute intermission.
A group shot right after the curtain came down on an extremely successful debut performance (Christopher Wheeldon is standing on the far left). It wasn't perfect, but I don't know that any performance every will be. What I do know is we all had a wonderful time performing, and the applause at the end was copious. What more do you really need? I feel so lucky to have shared this adventure with such great people; It truly was the experience of a lifetime.
After the show it was time to unwind and enjoy our success. We were invited to a reception hosted by the Dance Critics Association (DCA) and we all had a blast. There was food and drinks and, to my surprise, a large number of our supporters from Oregon. It was so comforting to see some familiar faces and to know that some of our hometown crowd flew all the way across the country to see us made me feel so honored. A big thanks to all of you who came, we all appreciated it so much!
Matthew, Lucas, and Linda talking at the reception.
After the reception we were taken to dinner and drinks in George Town by Christopher Stowell and Jon Ulsh. It's so nice to be taken care of after a performance. Sometimes it's very difficult to find food late at night, and even when you know where to find it actually getting there can be somewhat of an ordeal since we're all so exhausted, so it was great to not have to worry about it.
Anne, Kent Stowell, and Francia Russell. It was so nice to see Christopher's parents at the show. They are so wonderfully supportive of us and of Christopher that I can't even imagine such an important event going by without them.
Candace and Adrian enjoying dinner.
Later that night we realized that the fabric on the vanities in all the rooms looked identical to the fabric on our Mother Ginger costume, so we had to get a shot of one of our Mama Gs with it.

So, that was my day in a nutshell. All of the rehearsal was extremely tiring, and it felt like the show would never come, but I think we all really came together and gave a wonderful performance that I, my friends/co-workers, and hopefully the audience, will never forget.

S

Day 1 - Travel

6:15 am: Bus leaves OBT for the airport, Lucas is thrilled about the how early it is...

... Still on the bus...

6:40 am: Arrive at the airport and wait to board our 8:40 am flight. Coffee was a necessity.

 

The wonderful people at Lulu Lemon sent us a card. So sweet!

During our layover Ansa and Grace made some new friends.

Brian's anti-theft suitcase tag. 

8 pm (ish): Arrive in D.C. and collect our Luggage (that's the fastest I've ever gotten my bags!).

We had a bit of a shuttle debacle which involved us waiting in one spot, then going to another spot, then going back to our original waiting place... So Fry and I decided to take pictures of each other taking pictures of each other. Can you tell we were bored? :-).

Yuka and Ansa striking a pose. 

That night Adrian, Brennan, and I got Mexican food with Brennan's friends Stephanie and Brittney and Adrian's friend Katie (all from Ballet West).

Brittney, Adrian, Katie, and I

Brennan and Stephanie.

Sorry this blog was so late, but my room isn't wired for internet so I had to wait until I had time to run to the lobby! Now I'm off to see PNB, Washington Ballet, and Kansas City Ballet perform. 

I think Adrian will post a blog later about today! 

S

I snuck backstage yesterday afternoon to soak up the vibe of the last at-home performance of the 2007-8 season. My photos can't compete with Adrian's shot of the boys' tunic train, but here's what I got.


With all the excitement over the Raymoda tutus, the men's tunics could almost get overlooked-- but they should not be! I got my first up close look at them yesterday, and they are as stunning as the tutus.


Here is the tutu that Alison wore for the pas de deux. It is utterly gorgeous and must make her feel like a million bucks.

Up-close view of the tutu skirt:

And here's Candace, ready to go onstage. It's amazing to see the finished product of all those months of work on these costumes, complete with headpiece, armlettes, hair, and makeup.

I'll ditto what Adrian and Steven have said about the marvel of having seen another season pass under the bridge. I'll also echo what Steven is feeling about a sense of disbelief at what's happened over these past few months, though for different reasons, of course. I have a feeling of relief that this season is done now, because now I won't be missing any more ballets or performances! Even so, now we've all made it through another season of ups and downs, individually and collectively, and are facing the blank canvas of possibilities that will be 2008-9. I, too, will keep you updated on what happens during the long summer layoff for us all. My daily life won't change too much except that I will start spending a lot more time at the studio than I have since February. (It's kind of ironic that as the rest of the company scatters, I'll be coming back IN to work...). I'll keep on with daily physical therapy, plus adding some work in the studio and taking class myself. I will also be doing a fair amount of teaching in the SOBT summer course. So it will be a very full summer, which is how I like them to be. After a short amount of downtime, we dancers tend to get antsy!

Merde to everyone for OBT's Kennedy Center debut! May it only be the first of many performances there and elsewhere on the national stage.