Last night my family had the wonderful opportunity to go to Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Nutcracker. It was the first time that we were able to go as a family. We rode the monorail downtown to do a little last minute shopping, and then went to the ballet.

I’ve been to a few ballets, so I know the routine. Pick up tickets from will call, take pictures, pre-order snacks for intermission. During intermission, the snacks are on a table to the side, ready to be picked up with no line! I ordered a brownie and sparkling cider, but I soon found out that I definitely wasn’t drinking cider. They gave me champagne instead. Delicious, indeed, but, being that I am still under the legal drinking age, I had to give it back.

The ballet was beautiful, and I am so glad that we could go this year.

Company Pubs n Bars the owner of 87 local pubs situated primarily in the south-east of England has collapsed into administration after falling victim of the decline in consumer spending. The Aim-listed company yesterday appointed Grant Thornton as administrator, who warned that some pubs will close. Pubs n Bars which had debts of around £ 24m, were also hit by the smoking ban, credit insurers scaling back cover for providers and a decline in revenue from machines on the premises.  The Hobgoblin Staines is a PNB public house so is threatened with closure.

A director of the company, David Thurgood, has admitted that some of the weaker units may need to be closed. The alarm bells started to ring  for the Staines Hobgoblin manager Jensen Nightingale on last Tuesday night when his Sky TV was switched off without warning during a game.

Last night (10 Dec) scores of music fans gathered at The Hobgoblin (The Hob) – which is Staines most important music venue – to see BIG TRUCK, MIDGAR and VITAL INC play. This Saturday (12th Dec) the venue is set to be hosting an EP launch night for exciting new local band the DIRTY CRAWLERS – and the landlord fully expects to fill the pub to capacity (tickets still available behind the bar or on the door on the night.)

Hob resident promoters Buckle Up are asking that every live music lover and local ‘regular’ tries their best to support their local venue at this important time especially in the run up to Christmas, to avoid the possible closure of this very important asset.

The Dirty Crawlers

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Kepada mahasiswa Politeknik Negeri Bali, D4 Akuntansi Manajerial, berikut soal UTS Komputer Terapan 1. Ketentuan jawaban UTS terdapat dalam soal. Mohon dicermati dan diikuti. Selamat mengerjakan!

AIIMS | AIIMS Result – Click Here to View

Designation: BHEL Requires Diploma Holders in Engineering for Appointment on Contract Basis

Job Description:

BHEL Requires Diploma Holders in Engineering for Appointment on Contract Basis

BHEL is on the lookout for Engineering Supervisors to be engaged on Fixed Tenure Basis for a maximum period of two years for Electronics Division at Bangalore or anywhere in India at their Project Sites :
Diploma Engineers : 16 posts (UR- 06, ST-02, OBC-6, PH-2), Age : 28 years, Qualification : Diploma in Engineering in relevant discipline from an institute recognized by AICTE with 60% (50% for SC/S) marks, Experience : 01 year, Remuneration : remuneration of Rs. 9800/- in the first year and Rs. 10500/- in the second year.

Selection by written test and inerview.

Application Fee : Crossed Account Payee Demand Draft for Rs.100/- in favour of : M/s. BHEL Electronics Division, payable at Bangalore (No fee for SC/ST/ PH candidates)

Desired Profile:

How to Apply: Applications in the prescribed format along with the self attested copies of the relevant certificates, superscribing on the envelope containing the filled-in application form “Application for Appointment as Supervisors on Fixed Tenure Basis – Position code____” so as to reach the following address on or before 11/12/2009 :

Sr. Executive (HR), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Electronics Division, P.B. No. 2606, Mysore Road, Bangalore – 560026.

Location: Bangalore

Education: BE/B.Tech, Diploma , Any Graduate

Details & application Format

Designation: Recruitment of Probationary Clerks

Job Description:

The South Indian Bank Ltd. invites applications for filling up vacancies of Clerks for branches in Kerala and Tamilnadu

Name of post: Clerks

Qualification: Graduation from a recognized University having completed a regular 10+2+3 course securing at least 50% marks in Science Stream or 45 % marks in other streams. Candidates should be proficient in computer operations.

Pay Scale: Rs.4410-13210

Age Limit: Age as on 30.09.2009.- 26 yrs

Important Dates:

Opening date for making online registration – 28.10.2009

Closing date for making online registration – 21.11.2009

Last date for receiving the system generated print out with Demand Draft, photo and other documents – 28.11.2009

Tentative date of written test – 03.01.2010

Application Fees: Application fees should be paid by means of Demand Draft (Crossed Account Payee) favoring The South Indian Bank Ltd., payable at Trissur, Kerala State. Fee for general category is Rs.250 and that for SC/ST is Rs.50

Location: Across India

Education: Graduation

DETAILS HERE : http://southindianbank.com/UserFiles/RecruitmentOnline.pdf

APPLY ONLINE : http://southindianbank.com/Careers/careersdetails.aspx?careerid=37

by Lala Rimando, for ABS-CBN NEWS, October 29, 2009.

Veteran global fund manager Mark Mobius said corporate governance is a prime consideration when investing in emerging markets like the Philippines.

“We look at good corporate governance, especially those that pertain to the minority shareholders,” Mobius, the executive chairman of California-based Templeton Asset Management Ltd., told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak during a recent trip to Manila. He added that the quality of management is also a criteria. “We look at the management. Specifically, we look at their program for growth.”

These 2 criteria, however, are already considered in their current Philippine holdings. “The problem is these are already priced in the market,” he said. He is now bullish in other emerging markets, including Russia, Brazil, Pakistan, and Turkey…(continue reading)

Olier Mordrel fut un militant nationaliste breton. Il était favorable à l’indépendance de la Bretagne comme nation associée à la France et son influence marque encore aujourd’hui la frange la plus nationaliste de l’Emsav.

En 1919 il adhère au mouvement Breiz Atao pour être, en 1932 avec François Debeauvais, l’un des fondateurs du PNB (Parti Nationaliste Breton). Sa sensibilité radicale le pousse vers un romantisme néo-païen.

Pris dans la tourmente de la guerre, Mordrel est condamné à mort en France. Puis , de retour en Bretagne, toujours avec Debeauvais il est l’un des créateurs du Comité National Breton qui opte pour une ferme neutralité pour en démissionner et être assigné à résidence en Allemagne. Détesté de Vichy, toléré par les allemands, il revient en Bretagne pour assister à la scission du PNB après l’assassinat par les communistes de l’abbé Perrot et de la prise en main du parti par Célestin Lainé. Il se lie d’amitié avec Louis Ferdinand Céline et prend le chemin de l’exil en 1944. Condamné à mort par contumace en 1946, il revient pourtant en France en 1972. Il se rapproche du GRECE et meurt en 1985, le 25 octobre.

L’héritage d’Olier Mordrel a été longtemps ignoré ou rejeté depuis la fin de la guerre en raison de

son parcours clairement marqué par une tentative de conciliation du fascisme, du national-socialisme et du celtisme breton avant et durant le conflit et qu’il continue, par la suite, à dénoncer les incohérences idéologiques de la “gauche bretonne”.Avec l’apparition d’Adsav en 2000, Olier Mordrel et son héritage ont été réhabilités et Jean Mabire, en 1985, lui rend hommage :



« Mordrel, c’est tout autre chose [qu'un intellectuel]. Un grand écrivain d’abord, même s’il s’est échiné à la fin de sa vie dans des besognes moins hautes que lui. Mais aussi un homme capable de s’incarner totalement dans un peuple au point d’en faire une nation, dans un paysage au point d’en faire quelque Terre promise, dans un style de vie au point de donner naissance à un type d’homme nouveau.

Au départ, se situe certes la lutte pour ce qu’on nomme “les patries charnelles” et l’unité d’un monde qu’il baptisait comme “nordique” et qu’on peut aussi bien proclamer “européen”. Mais très vite apparut la fraternité par-delà les frontières. Et l’ordre nécessaire qui unit les meilleurs. Mordrel incarnait en lui-même, sans se soucier des contradictions, la sève populaire et la vertu aristocratique. Fils d’un général gaulois, il avait rompu avec le décor d’une France “unéindivisible” sans renier son sang. En pleine guerre, l’article qu’il consacre à ce vieux chef de l’arme coloniale indique bien les rapports nouveaux qui pourraient naître entre la Bretagne et la France.

Mordrel dépassait sa patrie avant même de l’avoir construite. Etre Breton, pour lui, n’était pas se fermer mais s’ouvrir. Première leçon.

La deuxième est sans doute que pour nous qui haïssons la chose politicienne, tout est politique et grande politique. Un poème, une critique de film, une photographie de visage ou de chaumière, la rencontre d’un homme véritable et surtout l’évocation de ses amis disparus comme Jakez Riou ou von Thevenar, tout lui était prétexte pour retrouver son monde et nous le faire découvrir. Même les statistiques et la géopolitique devenaient sous sa plume réalités de chair et de sang. Cet architecte était un lyrique.

L’aventure de Breiz Atao appartient à l’Histoire. Même si l’on en peut tirer un enseignement, elle n’en reste pas moins un moment totalement englouti dans le passé, aussi nécessaire et périmé que la geste de Nominoé ou les exploits d’Alan Barbe Torte. Mais Stur échappe aux pesanteurs quotidiennes et périssables de la politique. Cette revue annonçait, au détour de chaque page, qu’un nouveau type d’homme était en train de naître en Bretagne et que le Sturien serait bientôt autre chose que les différents avatars granitiques de la race : rêveurs, susceptibles, bourrus et bons cœurs, terroristes naïfs, soldats perdus du Bezenn, écolos barbus, grincheux mais éternels serviteurs de la France… Nourri de la philosophie de Nietzsche et de la littérature héroïque d’Irlande, le Breton sortait enfin d’un sommeil millénaire. Olier Mordrel peut dormir en paix. Il a semé des étincelles. »

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Punjab National Bank

(A Government of India Undertaking)

Head Office: HRD Division

7 Bhikaiji Cama Place, New Delhi-110066

Name of  Post : Officer (IT-Banking Domain)

Apply ONLY Online

Opening Date for Online Registration 22.10.2009

Closing Date for Online Registration (Including for Candidates from Far-Flung Areas) 07.11.2009

Date of Written Examination 20.12.2009

Total No of vacancies – 227

For Details of vacancy and for applying online, CLICK HERE

Have a look at the Prestigious PNB HERE

Designation: INDIAN BANK RECRUITMENT OF PROBATIONARY OFFICERS & SPECIALIST OFFICERS

Job Description:

Indian Bank,a premier bank owned by the Government of India,based in Chennai,is recruiting for Probationary Officers & Specialist Officers in various scales.Applications are to be submitted only through the website of Indian Bank.

Position – Vacancies :

1) Probationary Officers – 118 posts
2) Specialist Officers – 284 posts (refer below for departments)

Candidates are requested to apply online between 16.10.2009 and 16.11.2009 only through our Bank’s website www.indianbank.in. No other means/ mode of application will be accepted.

Eligibility for Probationary Officers : Graduation in any discipline Second Class with 55% aggregate marks / equivalent CGPA)

Application:
Candidates have to pay Rs.400(Gen/OBC) or Rs.50(SC/ST/PH/Ex.SM) in any Indian Bank branch using challans downloaded from the website.The details of payment have to be given in the online registration form.

Desired Profile:

Dates: Online Registration Starts – 16th October 2009
Online Registration Closes – 16th November 2009
Date of Written-Test – 3rd January 2010(for Specialist Officers)
Date of Written-Test – 17th January 2010(for Probationary Officers)

Details Here

challan for payment of fees

Cuando todos los agentes económicos están de acuerdo en que subir impuestos en tiempos de crisis es una medida contraproducente, nuestro gobierno central ha encontrado un aliado que apoyará los presupuestos que conseguirán que España salga peor parada de esta crisis que cualquier otro país de Europa.

Foto: Emilia Gutiérrez / La Vanguardia

El PNV, un partido que se ha quedado fuera de la primera plana política, necesita llamar la atención mediática. Y para hacerlo ha pactado contra-natura, contra-corriente y contra toda lógica unos presupuestos demoledores (de los que muchos socialistas están en total desacuerdo, pero se callan para no romper la disciplina de partido y para poder seguir calentando sus escaños).

Está claro que el PNV no ha aplicado el sentido de la responsabilidad con este voto de connivencia con el PSOE. Para el PNV es más importante “estar en el candelero” que mejorar la economía española. Hemos tenido una oportunidad irrepetible para que el PSOE rehiciera los presupuestos. Nadie, nadie los apoyaba (salvo sindicatos satélites).

Lo de subir el IVA para armonizarlo con Alemania y otros países de la UE no parece a priori una mala política, ya que cuando hay deflación una subida de impuestos se nota menos. Pero ese no es el único problema. Suben todos los impuestos, en Catalunya se mantiene el de sucesiones (tendremos que ir a morir a La Rioja, quizás ahogados en una barrica de Contino reserva 1995).

Entretanto, los autónomos seguimos igual de mal y vamos a peor. Entretanto, los catalanes seguiremos igual de mal, ya que si España va mal, Catalunya palma. Gracias PNV, espero que se os atragante esta decisión. Y que conste que os tengo cierta simpatía. Como la canción de los Rolling Stones: Sympathy for the devil.

An interest rate war led to the dip in home loan rates

An interest rate war is brewing in the home loans this festive season.

Development Credit Bank (DCB) and GIC Housing offering home loans below the psychological 8%.

DCB, which recently entered the segment, is offering home loans at 7.95% for loans up to Rs 5 crore at fixed interest rate for the first year and floating rates from year two.

Affordable housing is the buzzword these days, but the market would get a further boost if attractive financing options are available.

Therefore, bankers have started coming up with the attractive options for their target segments.

Central Bank of India and PNB have waived processing fee and documentation charges on certain loans.

Bankers have basically started offering a psychological pricing to get more borrowers into their fold.

According to bank observers, borrowers have started preferring low interest bearing home loan accounts of nationalised banks over private banks.

However, private sector bankers maintain that borrowers should not fall flat over the sub 8% schemes and exercise caution before signing on the dotted line.

As well as borrowers also say that such switch over is not easy.

Half way through EMI repayments, it is getting quite impossible for borrowers to get their account Shifted.

Constraints like, paying a hefty penalty and transfer fees are proving to be deterrents for them.

Interest Rate War is really heating up coming Diwali.

1. PNB had announced that it will develop its landed property of 7.2 hectares around Stadium Negara / Merdeka. It will build posh residential buildings and business plaza with development value of RM3 billion.

Aerial view of Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara

2. The objective is to generate sustainable income and give reasonable returns to its unit holders, myself included. TQVM.

3. However, PNB should also be promptly and politely reminded of its raison d’etre .

4. The proposed property sounds very expensive and would be beyond the reach of many Bumiputeras. Hence, who will be the major beneficiaries?

5. Nonetheless, PNB has the solemn responsibility to increase the ownership of Bumiputeras’ property which, presently, only stood at 15%. As such, PNB has to creatively balance the need for good returns and increased the Bumiputeras’ ownership.

6. On 6 October 2009, I had an opportunity to bring up this issue with a very senior PNB officer. He gave the assurance that 50% of the property will be owned by the Bumis. I softly asked him two questions:

(a) the property collectively belongs to Bumis; if PNB sells half of it to Non-Bumis, isn’t PNB reduces further the asset ownership of Bumis?, [Please be reminded that Bumis are normally given the opportunity to buy only 30% of the properties developed by non-Bumis], and

(b) Bumis make up 67% of the Malaysian population; why they are given only 50%?

7. His simple and polite answer was the questions need to be re-directed to the political master. Who will answer?

8. Concurrently, the same strong reminder ought to be sent to UDA Holdings Bhd. which is developing a 9.6 ha site in Tanjung Tokong, Penang.  It too must not forget its raison d’etre.

Kg Tanjong Tokong

9. PNB and UDA Holdings Bhd. have to do it and can do it.

10. The two organizations cannot afford to fail in their sacred respective missions.

11. PNB O PNB! UDA O UDA!

Designation: Union Bank Clerical Recruitment Project 2009 A

Job Description:
Union Bank of India
Name of post: Clerk -Cum – Cashier the Clerical Cadre
Age (As on 30.09.2009) – Minimum age : 18 yrs & Maximum age : 28yrs
Total Vacancies : 1040
Application Fee :  Rs.300.00

Important Dates
Opening Date For On- Line Applications after payment of Fees  – 01-10-2009
Last date For On -Line application & On- Line submission  – 31-10-2009

Click Here For Details

To Download fees payment challan

Apply On-Line

tic tac tic tac… maagang nagising, kinakabahan, patingin tingin sa relo, nag-aabang baka ang araw ay bumungad na, baka bukas na ang panaderya, para makapagalmusal na, trenta pesos nga, iyong mainit pa  ha, makaligo na nga, teka init muna ng tubig, malamig, hindi na hinintay na kumulo, sarap ng maligamgam, bihis muna, ay saglit wala pang nakahandang damit, plantsa muna sa bagong kabayo, dinumihan ni Ondoy iyong dati, alin kaya?, dapat iyong presentable, dapat iyong catchy, dapat iyong magmumukhang matalino at malinis, eto nalang, ay teka iyon nalang mas maganda tingnan, teka asan iyong pantalon, ay iyong isa nalang mas fit, ay iyon dati na nga lang baka magtampo eh, eto na nga lang para fit, buti nalang may kiwi pa, konting piga, konting pahid, konting brush, iyon makintab na kahit iyong unahan lang, hindi naman napapansin iyong likod, ngayon lang naman, pogi na ba?, oo pogi na, teka isang ikot pa sa salamin, ikot ulit, isa pang ikot, ay! iyong likod may gusot, ayusin muna, pulbo muna para hindi malangis, magamit muna iyong bagong colgate total, sarap, buti may gel pa, iyon oh!, iyong buhok umaayon, mukhang kakampi siya ngayon, wala daw dapat dalhin, sarili lang, siyempre si pareng bagong cellphone sa kanang bulsa at iyong id eh sa kaliwa…

manong para!, masyado ata akong maaga, daming tumingin, mukhang madaling basahin ang nasa isip ng mga tao sa jeep, sabi nila nakalongsleeves tapos nasa jeep, sabi naman ng iba, ay ang pogi buti nagjeep, hindi ko alam kung saan lulugar, manong para!, mukha ngang maaga akong talaga, lakad ng konti, ay hindi pala, medyo malayo, ay malayo palang tunay, ilang hakbang, ate sa kuwan po, bigay ng kinse pesos, nasa mrt na, siksikan grabe, sabi ng mga tao, ay nakalongsleeves paupuin naten, nakaupo na nga, nakarating din, bumaba, tiningnan iyong sapatos baka naapakan, iyong damit baka nagusot, iyong buhok baka nahawi, hindi naman, mapogi pa din, lintek, nung isang buwan lang andun iyong pila ng jeep, ngayon andun na sa kabila, teka ikot lang ng saglit, ayun, masikip ang pulang jeep kuno na iyon, kanan, kanan, kaliwa, ayun na, manong para!, tawid muna…

asan kaya iyong kuwan, eto id ko, sa 2nd floor po, kuya eto ba iyong kuwan, sa 3rd floor po, salamat, 10:30 na, oras na, kinakabahan, wag ka kabahan, magaling ka, mapogi ka pa, magpakatotoo ka lang, ayan na, tapos na iyong nauna, mukhang mas matangkad saken, mukhang mas mapogi ako, ako na, tinawag na, galingan ko dapat, sana masindak ko, naglalakad nako, ayan na nakaupo nako, bakit dalawa kayo sa harap ko?, dalawang bosing na bigatin?, teka mukhang cool kayo ah, bakit nawala si pareng kaba?, bakit nawala si mareng tensyon?, teka parang sobrang natural ng usapan ah, ayos lang ba tayo mga bosing?, teka eto na ba iyon?, mukhang nagkwento lang ako, walang challenge iyong tanong pero kinareer pa din sa pagsagot, teka ano?, tama ba?, tapos na?, mga bente minutos lang iyon ah, pagkatay na ba iyon?, sige hintay ko kayo, bilisan nyo sa pagtawag ha, tayo na ko, alis na ko, ate id ko?, eto sir, salamat, gutom nako, tanghali na pala, kain muna ko, mukhang napanis ko naman iyong tanong, sakay muna sa shuttle nila, na shuttle ko na din sa sunod, walang tao, dami bakante, dito nalang sa may bintana, 3 minuto na, alis na, umaandar na, 10 minutos na, oi! nanginig si pareng N82, teka buksan ko muna, lock code, *****, iyon na, to! pumasa ka, talaga, ang bilis, pasado na, kelan kaya simula, iyon oh, eto na nga, sa wakas, talaga?, ang lupit naman, ang galing, ang pogi kasi…

Go If

Agon is probably one of the quintessential Balanchine pieces in every balletomane’s punch card. You should go if you love Balanchine, abstract, short and/or neo-classical ballets. Or try it for the landmark score: this is where Stravinsky began exploring his twelve-tone technique (more on this below).

Skip If

You are a strictly 19th century classical ballet fan and all of the above makes you cringe, especially the thought of music without an overall melodic theme (as you often exit the theatre whistling to Swan Lake!).

Dream Cast

NYCB (particularly if Wendy Whelan dances the pas de deux), after all, they are the Balanchine company per excellence.

Background and Structure

Balanchine and Stravinsky. Source: Oberon's Grove. Copyright belongs to its corresponding owners.

Around 1948 Balanchine’s benefactor Lincoln Kirstein had an idea for a ballet which would form a “greek trilogy” together with that choreographer’s earlier collaborations with Stravinsky: Apollo and Orpheus. The concept was discussed at the time but a couple of years would pass before concrete plans were drawn and a structure agreed. Stravinsky started composing for the new ballet in 1953. He came up with the title Agon, the greek word for contest but also a  reference to the various 17th century French court dances he had studied from Lauze’s Apologie de la Danse (1623) and this set the frame for Balanchine’s choreography.

Agon marked the third and last time Stravinsky would specifically compose music for a Balanchine ballet (though the choreographer continued to use other Stravinsky music in  later works). On the other hand it was the first time where Stravinsky applied to his work 12-tone serialism techniques, which he had just started experimenting with.

Stravinsky’s previous compositions had been structured in diatonic scale, in other words, they had been based on major and minor scales (click links for audio examples), which give a strong feeling of a tonal center, the major keys a bright sound and the minor keys a moodier sound. One can build a diatonic scale by playing the white keys on a piano keyboard within an octave, in the sequence -Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do – (see figure) 

Octave on a Piano. Image: Guido Tattoni © Source: Smack my pitch up

Between two half steps or semitones (Mi-Fa and Ti-Do – or in the picture Si-Do) there are either two whole steps or tones (Do-Re-Mi) or three whole steps (Fa-Sol-La-Ti), giving the diatonic scale its rich tonality and clear sounds.

There are however, other types of scales. Chromatic scales for instance are sequences of tones (whole steps) preceeded by semitones (half steps). One can build a chromatic scale by playing a sequence of black and white keys in order, without leaving any out. The result is uniform and different to the major scale above where tones and semitones are arranged in a particular way. A chromatic scale has 12 tones (NB: there are 12 tones or notes in an octave. Just count the number of keys in the figure above: Do, Do Sharp, Re, Re Sharp, Mi, Fa, Fa sharp, Sol, Sol sharp, La, La sharp, Ti).

The twelve-tone technique of serialism arranges notes from a chromatic scale so that in an octave none of its 12 notes prevail over another, each note appearing just once before a new series begins. This method was developed by Arnold Schoenberg in the early twenties and later developed by his disciples Alban Berg and Anton von Webern. The resulting music is often referred to as atonal and cerebral.

Even though Agon starts with a diatonic, non-serial structure, Stravinsky combined parts that had a tonal centre (think of the violin solo in the coda of the first pas de trois) with serialist parts (the flute, mandolins & harps in the Galliard). In order to concentrate on other works and further his experience with serialism Stravinsky shelved Agon for a couple of years and then returned to create the central – very serialist – part of the work (the first coda and the bransles, ie. the moves from side to side), following Schoenberg and Webern’s ideas. 

Besides the new composition techniques, Stravinsky also used specific instruments to identify the dancers in the ballet – brass for men and woodwind for women – as well as traditional French court dance references: the bransles (couples dancing in circle, side to side), galliards (an athletic dance with plenty of jumps),  sarabande and pas de deux/quatre.

NYCB in Agon. Photo: Elliott Franks © Source: The Telegraph

Balanchine built his choreography in response to Stravinsky’s score. Taking into account the serial 12-note concept he  conceived a ballet with 12 dancers (4 men and 8 women) and 12 movements (4 sections of 3 dances each). The ballet starts with the four male dancers facing the back of the stage and the dances develop as follows:

Pas de Quatre – the men
Double Pas de Quatre – the women
Triple Pas de Quatre – the ensemble

Prelude – 1 man, 2 women
Saraband-step – 1 man
Galliard – 2 women
Coda – 1 man, 2 women

Interlude – 2 men, 1 woman
Bransles:
Simple – 2 men
Gay - 1 woman
Double – 2 men, 1 woman

Interlude – 1 man, 1 woman
Pas de Deux – 1 man, 1 woman*
Four Pas de Deux – the men and 4 women
Four Pas de Trois – the ensemble
Coda – the ensemble

NYCB in Agon. Photo: Tristram Kenton © Source: The Guardian

The *pas de deux is one of Agon’s most unique features. The music sounds disjointed, with few instruments being used at a time, but it is still possible to identify the basic components: an adagio, two variations and a coda with the key difference of a role reversal for the dancers, the woman seeming to lead the male into assorted extreme poses rather than the opposite. There are several famous images such as the one where the ballerina wraps around her partner with her leg in attitude, or her 180º arabesque whilst the male dancer is lying on the floor.

PNB's Olivier Weavers and Louise Nadeau in Agon. Photo: Angela Sterling / PNB © Source: ArtsPlace

When the score calls for serial 12-note themes, dancers respond with isolated movements and hints of the courtly dances on which they are based (the men bowing to the women). If the music presents a canon of two trumpets, the dancers perform in canon (ie. successively) to match the trumpets in the music. In the final section, as the score goes back to opening motifs, the dancers resume the same opening image of four male dancers facing the back of the stage.

Stravinsky finished the score in the spring of 1957 and Agon premiered on December 1, 1957, as part of a triple bill featuring Apollo and Orpheus. It was an easy winner with the audience, since it depicted classical ballet in a different and novel way, showing conflict and resolution between various forms of dance, movement and shape.

Videos

Sorry no YouTube videos! But there are certain DVDs and VHS* tapes (if you are able to view these) featuring glimpses of Agon.

• Balanchine (1984) [link]
• The Balanchine Celebration, Part Two* [link]
• Bringing Balanchine Back [link]
• Dancing for Mr. B: Six Balanchine Ballerinas [link]
• Peter Martins: Dancer* [link]

Music

Agon had its first concert performance in June 1957 in Los Angeles. It is still often performed on its own and much valued as a piece which combines both serial and non-serial elements. At an average length of 25 min, it can be easily uploaded to your favourite mp3 player. It can be downloaded from iTunes [link] or streamed via Spotify [link].

Mini-Biography

Choreography: George Balanchine
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Original Cast: Todd Bolender, Barbara Milberg, Barbara Walczak, Roy Tobias, Jonathan Watts, Melissa Hayden, Diana Adams and Arthur Mitchell.
Premiere: December 1, 1957, NYCB. City Center of Music and Drama, New York.

Sources and Further Information

1. Agon in Context by Richard Jones. Ballet.co Magazine, April 2004. [link]
2. Wikipedia Entry for Agon (ballet) [link]
3. NYCB Agon Repertory Notes [link]
4. 50 Years Ago, Modernism Was Given a Name: Agon by Alastair Macaulay. November 2007, NY Times [link]
5. The Bransles of Stravinsky’s Agon: A Transition to Serial Composition by Bonnie S. Jacobi. [link]

we are going to see maillot’s Roméo et Juliette on Saturday. SO EXCITED. The Stranger sums it up:

“Roméo et Juliette is hot. It seduces the audience with everything the dancers have, not just some of it—their command and their release; their Olympian ability not just to spin bolt upright but also to ache; their fingers, eyes, mouths; their acting. Feels are copped. Making out is not symbolized: It occurs.”

sex, drama and top-tier dancing. what’s not to love? even from the cheap seats.

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ALL THE BEST FRIENDS

Pacific Northwest Ballet’s production of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Romeo et Juliet begins Thursday and continues through next weekend. I saw this production for the first time last year and just loved it. Never before have I seen a R&J where I actually believed that these two were in love. Take it on faith! the various interpreters seeemd to be saying. But I am a bit of a cynic and think that love at first sight is basically complete hooey so this story that depends on the depth of connection to explain how these two families are destroyed seemed… overwrought.

Maillot’s version, however, made me believe 100% that these two were falling in love. You see it. It’s happening right there in front you. They are deciding to fall in love. Juliet is a young woman who knows her mind and understands that she wields some power. Romeo seems more naive, actually, or maybe merely unwisely convinced of his own degree of control of the situation.

It’s a stunning ballet and a beautiful production and I think that both couples, Lucien Postlewait and Carla Korbes, and James Moore and Kaori Nakamura, will be a treat to watch. Check out this video to hear the two couples talk about their experience with the ballet and the roles.