American Ballet Theater's Sleeping Beauty - Final Performances in Costa Mesa CA Today (Sunday)

A quick sneak-it-in post, since Sunday (today as you are probably reading this) is the last day this is being performed in Costa Mesa, California. But the production sounds all sorts of amazing, with new choreography and classic combined, full of symbolism and a different sort of storytelling to usual story ballets.

By the way - beautiful promotional pic, don't you think? Although it also looks incredibly uncomfortable.. that girl is going to need a massage when she finally gets woken up!

The American Ballet Theatre returns to the Center with the world premiere of its new production of The Sleeping Beauty, with choreography by Marius Petipa and additional choreography by ABT Artist in Residence, Alexei Ratmansky. This classic story ballet tells the enchanting tale of the beautiful princess cursed to sleep for 100 years by an evil sorceress, until awakened by the kiss of a handsome prince. It’s ballet on the grandest scale with the superstar dancers and spectacular sets and costumes that only ABT can deliver. And it all unfolds to Tchaikovsky’s ravishing score, performed live by the Pacific Symphony.

New costume design left to right:
1st row: Rose Adagio, The Wolf, Queen at Christening, English Prince
2nd row: Catalabutte, Mandarin, King at the Christening, Indian Prince
3rd row: Hummingbird Fairy, New Wedding Dress, Ariana, Garland Couples

(You can see the costumes sketches much larger HERE.)

I wanted to point to a hilarious, irreverent post on her special night out to see an older ABT Sleeping Beauty production (at The Lincoln Center) HERE. The writer clearly was completely entranced, but makes some hilarious observations and connections too, such as:

"Any respectable girl knows the story of Sleeping Beauty. She is born, and at her welcoming ceremony, her parents offend Helena Bonham Carter, who curses the princess to an early death via poisonous spindle."

I had to laugh.

And if you get the chance to see the ABT's current production, consider going. It's touted to be a little bit more than a standard production of Sleeping Beauty (which is a very difficult ballet to stage and execute because of the technical difficulties - many companies are just not up to the grueling task!).

For this Sunday/today's last two performances, you can find more information HERE.


For more information on the American Ballet Theater touring (though I don't see any further performances of this new Sleeping Beauty production after tomorrow until June) go have a look HERE.Note: if you end up going and seeing a performance of this Sleeping Beauty later in the year, I've read articles which say the ballet, because it's a brand new production, is being tweaked and revised, according to critic and audience reception as it goes along (this is fairly standard for age companies adding a new signature work to their repertoire) so be assured that it will only get better.

Fairy tale bonus of the day:

Ballet legend, Gelsey Kirkland and her amazing Carabosse costume from the ABT production in 2007. I just had to share. It looks like beetles and magic! You can see more from the creator, Kari Love, who created the costumes for the 2007 production HERE.

Ask Baba Yaga: Am I Watching Too Much Television?

Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave by Kinuko Craft

That glowing siren call of the modern age... so many shows, so little time.

Today's question and answer (via poet and oracle Taisia Kitaiskaia* of The Hairpin):

(Originally posted at The Hairpin HERE)

TV as a golden egg.. interesting concept. Both valuable and invaluable at the same time. Is she saying concentrating on it solely will only give you a cracked, half life? That you cannot truly appreciate the gold - or even discern the gold - unless you live your life and do other things too? Clearly Baba Yaga is very aware of TVs addictive properties though. 

Stories are wonderful in every form but some mediums have more impact than others. When it comes to TV, sometimes that's gold, sometimes it's just something shiny in your eye, blocking your vision.

I agree wholeheartedly. (But I still wish we could afford HBO - not that I would have time to watch it...)

What do you think of Baba Yaga's advice?

Want to ask Baba Yaga a question of your own?

You can!

There's now an email address where you can send your questions

directly to Baba Yaga herself.

AskBabaYaga AT gmail DOT com

To encourage Baba Yaga to continue imparting her no-bones-about-it wisdom (ok, there may be some gristle in there... bones too), I suggest we not to leave her box empty... 

Thank you Baba Yaga (& Taisia).

* Taisia Kitaiskaia is a poet, writer, and Michener Center for Writers fellow. Born in Russia and raised in America, she's had her poems and translations published in Narrative Magazine, Poetry International, and others.

Reader Spotlight: Bluebird-cakes Goes Into The Woods

I was sent a picture of this delightful - and amazing! - cake recently, from a OUABlog reader and talented fairy tale community friend, Zoe Smith of Bluebird-cakes (aka Wintersgate fairy). She kindly gave me permission to share it and some of her other fairy tale creations with you. Thank you Zoe!

About the Into the Woods cake, Zoe says:

The Into the Woods cake was chocolate mud covered in ganache and decorated in fondant icing , and modelling chocolate was used for the detail of the head and trees.

Chocolate, chocolate ganache, more chocolate... mmm. I just don't know quite how you go about eating a witch's face... (Fingers? No problem. Face? Um... please don't curse me!) But seriously, can you imagine receiving this for your birthday? I think I wouldn't let anybody touch it. Ever! ("Don't never, ever, ever mess around with my greens cake!")
         
Zoe also shared a little more about herself, confirming her long time fairy tale obsession, er, love, and that she truly is one of us...

I am a cake decorator based in the North East of England, love all things fairy tale from dark Grimm's tales to the Spiderwick  Chronicles and I bleed Disney ! Love , love , love animation and we have a collection of DVDs that I pretend belong to my kids but they are truly mine . My books are half fairy tale /animation art , half cake decoration and recipes. And lastly , I am Pinterest obsessed !  Makes you wonder how my husband puts up with me ?!

                
Look at those little animated pansies!! I want a whole cake with singing Alice flowers now...

For those lucky people in the UK who can go see and taste test one of her cakes personally: I envy you.. and keep her in mind if you need something a little special, something made with enchantment. As you can see, Zoe is sure to deliver.

I also discovered that Zoe has an Etsy shop, something for which I have no idea how she finds time to create anything with cakes like these. But in the past she made - and sold - these adorable elf boots below. (Lucky customer!)

I have a feeling we'll see more magic from Zoe's corner before long. I've added her sites and information below.)

                       Zoe Smith - Bluebird-cakes
www.facebook.com/wintersgate
www.pinterest.com/wintersgatefae

Submissions Call: Frozen Fairy Tales Anthology (from Enchanted Conversation)

(Reposted from Enchanted Conversation, in full, with permission. The original post is HERE. This is a paid writing opportunity.)

In the bleak midwinter, the call of fairy tales can be especially irresistible. After all, fairy tales both take us out of our humdrum world and into the possibilities of what can be--or maybe even is. A fairy tale read in winter can help us dream through the the cold days and nights.

Yet, surprisingly few fairy tales are specifically set in winter. With Frozen Fairy Tales, we're hoping to remedy that.

In a joint venture between World Weaver Press and Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine, we're opening up to submissions for a fairy tale collection set in winter. Details are below.

The Winter by Vladimir Kireev

1) You must be 18 or older to submit.

2) Submissions must be in English, but submissions from all over the world are most welcome.

3) No stories connected to the movie Frozen will be considered. It's a great movie, but this anthology is not at all about that film.

4) Stories centered on winter holidays are most welcome, but stories do not need to be holiday focused. Krampus-themed stories will be considered, but please do not resubmit stories that were previously submitted for the Krampusnatch collection.

5) A sense of winter and its perils and possibilities must be part your story.

6) This is a fairy tale collection, which means the sensibility of the stories should evoke classic fairy tales. You do not need to retell famous fairy tales reset in winter, but you may. 

Nonetheless, the classics have been retold a lot lately, so fresher takes with more originality stand a better chance of being selected, as do retellings of obscure fairy tales. But think winter!

7) Please, no erotica, hard-core horror or sci-fi.

8) Open submission period: March 6-May 15, 2015.

9) Length: Under 10,000 words.

10) Submission method: Email cover letter and story to enchantedconversation [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line “Frozen Fairy Tales Anthology – story title.” Cover letter should contain your name, contact info, story’s title, and approximate word count; no need to summarize the story, let it speak for itself. Then paste the full story into the body of the email following your letter. Please make it very clear where paragraphs break — this means if your email doesn’t let you indent paragraphs, you’ll need to put an extra space between each paragraph for submission purposes. Do not send unrequested attachments.

Simultaneous submissions = okay. Multiple submissions = no.

11) Rights and compensation: Payment: $20. All contributors will receive a paperback copy of the anthology.

We are seeking first world rights in English and exclusive rights to publish in print and electronic format for twelve months after publication date after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for a term. No reprints will be considered. That means only previously unpublished works will be considered.

 

Art: The Wild Swans by Anna & Elena Balbusso

Apparently the Once Upon A Blog... Gallery of Enchanted Arts, turned two years old yesterday! In an

effort to spread more fairy tale love and awareness through various social media sites, Tumblr was one of those spots on the web that I set-up not too long ago (well, I guess it's two years ago!). I don't mention it much but I do try to post some new fairy tale every week or more often, so if you ever need more beautiful fairy tale images, go take a look.

(Of course Pinterest remains my main image hunting and gathering spot and that rarely overlaps with any other social media at all. It's not quite daily but almost!)

In honor of milestones I thought I'd add an art post for today, especially as on Tumblr I don't tend to post all the work from one book or by one artist at once - I like to spread out the visual fun there but seeing all the images from one story is inspiring to me to, so today we're looking at one of my favorite tales The Wild Swans.

The artists for this stunning looking book are Anna and Elena Balbusso. They're Italian twin sisters and have been working as a team in art and illustration for over fifteen years, something you don't see too often (anyone else immediately thinking Snow White and Rose Red?) You can read more about their works and many awards, HERE, while their main website is HERE.

Let the illustration gorgeousness begin! (You can click on the images to see them full sized.)

Incidentally, the scene above, with Eliza, (or whatever name she goes by in the various tales), being bathed and having cursed, poison toads put in with her, that hopped onto her head and heart etc but then changed to poppies, was my favorite as a child from this story.

As much as I am fascinated - and love! - the whole boys-turning-into-swans (and back again) aspect, it's this bathing scene which was so very vivid to me. Perhaps it was the colors mentioned or perhaps the clear symbolism but finding illustrations of this scene proved quite difficult for many years. So this is the scene I storyboarded (but which no one will ever see..).

Below is the full cover of the book these illustrations are from. I wish the front illustration was available to view without the added graphics for the read-aloud book, but nonetheless, I just love it.

In Other News...

I never - EVER - seem to get to every story I'd like to post on, and that's from a reduced selection of stories I choose from for the week as well. There are also many "small" stories I can't quite expand into a post's worth too, so here's an attempt to point you in the direction of more news and extra fairy tale bits 'n' pieces, since this week is an extra busy one for me.

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So, in other fairy tale news this week....

The Brothers Grimm movie (directed by Terry Gilliam) was added to the Netflix streaming options on March 1st, a few days ago. (More details here)

The Stinky Cheese Man puppet show (Paul Mesner Puppets of Kansas City) is playing around Oklahoma City in the middle of March. (details here)

What Disney princesses would have worn through the 20th and 21st centuries, ie. what they would have worn if they lived when their movie was made. (close-ups and details here)

Donald Haase on holiday in LA is being followed by fairy tales everywhere he goes. He took some pictures of costumes used in Cinderella "in the line of duty". We appreciate the sacrifice! Go to the AFS FB page to see the full collection properly. (The American Folklore Society Facebook page is supposed to be public but doesn't seem to be connecting - start HERE).

FTNH Note: It might just be me but all this Cinderella fuss really seems market and industry driven. It's all the advertising, all the stores with their merchandise.. Apart from a little ooh-ing and aah-ing about Cinderella's dresses and the collector dolls being released, it's not really buzzing around social media at all that I can see, even with subjects like Lily James' teeny waist or the trouble Disney had hiding Madden's, er, "codpiece" (Ken doll anyone?). There's certainly none of the speculation and excitement that Frozen incited, or even Into The Woods. It's certainly a media blitz and the stores are saturated with merchandise - from low end to high, but interest in the movie? Not really seeing a whole lot.

Also posted on the Facebook page, an amusing Frog Prince wine he found. Funny description (more info here) + extra points to Kuleto for using "grenoulline" on the back label (the restaurant rating is excellent! Though this write-up gives me pause to try it - at least on my dime):

Our fool's Bordeaux. We blend our most varietal barrels of Cabernet Sauvignon with Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and a few other varieties from the estate to make this multi-layered beauty. Not 'pretty' on first whiff, but it reveals its inner beauty with every sip.

Sea of Trees musical at University of Iowa explores the Suicide Forest in a dark fairy tale. (story here)

"Fairy control" to halt doors in Somerset woods (they're being overrun with teeny kitsch!) ""Fairy control" has had to be brought in at a woods in Somerset to curb the "profusion of elfin construction". "We've got little doors everywhere. We're not anti-fairies but it's in danger of getting out of control." " Story HERE.

Article: Ten Lesser Known Fairy Tales That Should Get More Love (The Enchanted Quill was new to me but those of you who read a lot of tales won't find too many unfamiliar - this is just an indication of different tales worth considering using that are likely to grab people's interest at this time.) (see article HERE)

Ellen Degeneres mashes up Cinderella and Fifty Shades of Grey (video - not TOO terrible, it is Ellen, after all.) (video at link)

Claire Keene (Tangled concept artist) has a new original fairy tale book coming out, Once Upon A Cloud. She's having a special launch party in Pasadena (Los Angeles) on March 14. You can see the event on Facebook HERE. "I'll be talking about how my work on Rapunzel's murals helped influence my first picture book, Once Upon A Cloud." It was available for purchase as of yesterday, March 3rd from Amazon. Bookstores should have it after the launch.

From the Australian Fairy Tale Society:
Our 2nd conference will be held on Sunday June 21st (Winter Solstice) and we are delighted to announce our Keynote Speaker is Sophie Masson, celebrated author of many fairy tale retellings and novels which explore the theme of transformation. Sophie’s latest novel Hunter’s Moon, inspired by Snow White, will be released in June. (see here for more information about Hunter's Moon)

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Believe it or not there's more but this will have to do for today!