The New York Philharmonic

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VIDEO: The Making of A Dancer's Dream

Alan Gilbert and the Orchestra won’t be alone onstage when they perform Stravinsky’s The Fairy’s Kiss and Petruskha as part of A Dancer's Dream. Far from it.

They'll be joined by 30 dancing miniature mountains, 40 hand-cranked clouds, 1 million individual snow flakes, 75 floating bubbles, 1 star ballerina (the incomparable New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns), 3 puppeteers, and 1 atmosphericist.

Check out this exclusive making-of video in which the giants behind Giants Are Small, director/designer Doug Fitch and producer Edouard Getaz, and Alan Gilbert explain how they have blended music with ballet, live film-making, pre-recorded video, puppetry, circus arts, costuming, and more.

Galleries Are Small

Giants Are Small Exhibit

While bijou in size, the Bruno Walter Gallery at Avery Fisher Hall is currently exploding with materials that celebrate the collaborative projects between the New York Philharmonic and Giants Are Small, the creative dynamos behind our productions of Le Grand Macabre (2010) and The Cunning Little Vixen (2011), leading up to the upcoming A Dancer’s Dream (June 27–29). Gear up for our colorful and imaginative season finale with this exhibition featuring props, production photos, costumes, and sketches, on view now through the end of June.

Dream a Little Dream

pinterest

Delve into our season finale, A Dancer’s Dream, with a look at our newest Pinterest board: "Inside A Dancer’s Dream. Director and designer Doug Fitch (who helped create our productions of Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre and Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen) has given us an exclusive peek at the inspiration boards that went into costuming the Ice Maiden, Columbine, The Moor, and Petrushka for The Fairy’s Kiss and Petrushka, two ballets by Stravinsky that make up our season finale in June that stars New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns. See how designers like Alexander McQueen, Christian Dior, Comme des Garçons, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Viktor & Rolf combine with artful origami and the looks of everyone from Mad Max to classical ballet to create this one-of-a-kind dream.

Mearns's Turn

Sara Mearns in Rehearsal

“I think if you are a true artist, passionate about your art form, who can’t imagine life without it, you are kissed with this curse of always trying to do your art form justice, create the beauty it deserves. It’s our job as performing artists to give the audience a taste of that passion — to let them fall into that world,” says New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns, who is featured in this month’s Playbill as we gear up for A Dancer’s Dream: Two Works by Stravinsky  at the end of June. Learn how she’ll be transforming into an Ice Fairy and a marionette when she appears with Alan Gilbert and the Philharmonic.

Dreams Do Come True

Rehearsal

“It’s been a dream of mine to perform with an orchestra like that. Classical music for me, now, is equal to classical ballet. You can’t have one without the other.”— New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns talks with Classical TV about her collaboration with the Philharmonic on the upcoming multimedia production A Dancer’s Dream: Two Works by Stravinsky.

We’ve enjoyed seeing Sara at the concerts she’s attended all season, but we can’t wait to welcome her as a guest performer. Stay tuned for more. 

Photo by Chris Lee.

Triumphant Conclusion in Vienna

Alan Gilbert and the Orchestra conclude their three-concert stint at the Vienna Konzerthaus with works by The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence Christopher Rouse, Mozart, and Musorgsky. The performance brings the EUROPE / SPRING 2013 tour to a close, and the musicians head to New York to resume performing for their hometown audience.