Trinidad is currently guest teaching at the Bayerisches Staatsballett in Munich, Germany.   She was invited by Ballet Director, Ivan Liska and his wife Colleen Scott with whom she danced at the Hamburg Ballet 25 years ago.  They have not worked together since, so she is enjoying the reunion.  Like the ballets in most major German cities, the Bayerisches Staatsballet and Opera receive state support and are able to develop large companies (~60 dancers!) and elaborate productions.  The night she arrived, Trinidad was treated to a performance of Kylian’s “Zugvögel”, which she described with the words “Wow! What an experience!”  It is a very unusual combination of dance, theatre, film, music, lighting and stage changes during the dancing.  Last Friday, she saw the beautiful production of “Lady of the Camellias”, with choreography by John Neumeier.  It is a story ballet with lots of passion and drama, and the costumes and sets designed by Jurgen Rose are gorgeous.  The ballet brought memories to Trinidad of when she performed it with Ivan and Colleen in the Hamburg Ballet more than 20 years ago.

Trinidad’s teaching work is going well.  She is impressed by the talent and hard work of the company’s 60 dancers.  They are currently performing two programs and also working on a piece by Nacho Duato, which they will perform in December.  This week they will start work on a new piece by Forsythe, called “Artifact”, which they will perform later in the season.  So Trinidad is certainly enjoying the amazing diversity of their repertoire.

The company works in two spaces.  The Nationaltheater (pictured below and on their website) is a beautiful classical building the Staatsballett shares with the Staatsoper and Staatsorchester; they have one big studio in this building.  They have another more modern building just for the Ballet a block away in the heart of the city with four beautiful studios where they also rehearse.  This past Saturday Trinidad taught class there and, aside from the great work of the company, was delighted that through the windows you can see a row of beautiful Bavarian houses.

We look forward to having Trinidad back with us in Brookline in a week, as we start into the home stretch to our opening.

Happy Thanksgiving to all from The Brookline Ballet School!

This week saw the “The Brookline Ballet School” and “”1431” signage mounted on the façade of the building.  The brushed aluminum lettering is beautifully set off by the “Royal Flush” backing over the entrance way and, at night, picks up the spotlight reflection that dances across the letters as you walk or drive by.  Inside, the framing is now completed as well as the rough electrical and plumbing work.  When the drywall and plastering work gets under way this week, the studios will really take shape.

We’re also getting close to finalizing our initial schedule.  We’ve had input from over 100 interested dancers and parents, and thank all those who have contacted us.  Taking these comments into account, we will be making some changes to the Youth Ballet Program as initially posted and filling out the schedule with a number of other offerings.  There is still time to provide us your comments and input at info@brooklineballet.com or 617-879-9988, to let us know what classes would appeal to you or your child and the ideal schedule for you, and to get yourself on our mailing list so we can let you know when we open enrolment.

We are planning to open enrollment at the end of November, working towards opening The School up for visits during the week before the holidays and start classes on January 4, 2010.  We’ll keep you posted as work progresses and we are able to firm up these dates, as well as schedule open house events.