…in 12 rooms you’ll never see. This New York Times video takes us behind the scenes of The Metropolitan Opera’s home at Lincoln Center to witness what happens before the curtain rises on Alexei Ratmansky’s ballet Whipped Cream, performed by the American Ballet Theatre. It ran from May 23 to July 1, 2017. The plot:
In this fantastical confection, a young boy overindulges at a Viennese pastry shop and falls into a delirium. To help him escape from his attending physician, the boy dreams of his triumphant rescue by Princess Praline and her court, including Princess Tea Flower and Prince Coffee, as well as marching Marzipan, with a festive celebration in conclusion. As light as meringue, Richard Strauss’s score is the perfect inspiration for this all-new production destined to delight ballet fans of all ages.
The NYT video enjoys cameos from pioneering principal dancer Misty Copeland, composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, a snow yak, and the scores of people that bring these productions together. Be sure to check out NYT’s index of backstage sightings.
Related reading: ABT’s whimsical, psychedelic new ballet ‘Whipped Cream’ by the numbers.
Next: Backstage Sleeping Beauty – The Royal Ballet of Flanders, Mikhail Baryshnikov competing and winning in Moscow (1969), and The Washington Ballet’s hardest dance moves.
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