Jacob’s Pillow to Kick Off With State Ballet of Georgia

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Nina Ananiashvili & the State Ballet of Georgia - June 23-June 27, 2010


BECKET, Mass. — This year's Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival is kicking off with prima ballerina Nina Ananiashvili and the State Ballet of Georgia, performing in the Ted Shawn Theatre June 23 through 27.

Ananiashvili, former principal of the Bolshoi Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, directs and dances with her homeland’s national company, which showcases classical and contemporary technique in this engagement. The program features "Falling Angels" by Czech choreographer Jiří Kylián, and Alexei Ratmansky’s "Bizet Variations" and George Balanchine’s "Duo Concertant," both performed to live music by The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival/Yale School of Music.

The evening begins with four rarely seen pas de deux by Sir Frederick Ashton. Ananiashvili will also perform at the Jacob’s Pillow Season Opening Gala on June 19 in "The Dying Swan," by Mikhail Fokine, with live accompaniment by cello master Yehuda Hanani.

While at Jacob’s Pillow, Ananiashvili will be a guest artist faculty member for The School at Jacob’s Pillow’s 2010 Ballet Program. These pre-professional dancers hail from around the world and will also take part in a Master Class led by Dance Theatre of Harlem Artistic Director Virginia Johnson. As part of their first week of training in the Ballet Program (Program Director, Anna-Marie Homes), they perform a world premiere choreographed by Karole Armitage at the Season Opening Gala on June 19.

Ananiashvili has added more than 20 new ballets to the State Ballet of Georgia's repertoire, restaged classics such as "Swan Lake" and "Don Quixote," works by fellow Georgia native Balanchine, and contemporary ballets by Trey McIntyre and Kylián.

After being met with praise at home and abroad, Ananiashvili and the State Ballet of Georgia were first seen at the Pillow in 2007, when they presented Balanchine’s ethereal Mozartiana, McIntyre’s Second Before the Ground, and excerpts from Don Quixote. This year’s program exhibits similar diversity with work ranging from neoclassical to contemporary.

For more information, visit www.jacobspillow.org.
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ADOPTED! Companion Corner: Cali and Kyzer at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

Great news, Kyzer and Cali found a home for Christmas already! Still looking for a new friend for the holidays? There are plenty of dogs and cats and small animals at Berkshire Humane who would love to go home with you.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded dog pair awaiting a new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, a quite a bit bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.

Canine adoption counselor Rhonda Cyr introduced us to the two.

"They came from a household that couldn't hold on to them, and it sounds like they may have been abandoned by their previous owner with somebody else, and so they came to us looking for a new home," she said.

The two love to be around you and snuggle. But both are very happy dogs.

"Kyzer is 7 years old, and his personality is that he kind of wants to be in everything. He's very loving, very snuggly, as you can tell. And Callie here, she's 8 years old, and she is kind of like the life of the party," said Cyr. "She wants to tell you everything about her day, and she's a little bit of a little ham."

The two are considered seniors and really like soft treats as Cali just had a few teeth removed and Kyzer has a tooth procedure coming up.

"Currently, they really like soft treats, because they are both on the senior side of things. So they have had some dental work, so they are really in need of something softer. They are not big chewers at this age, really, their main focus right now is just really socializing and cuddling," Cyr said.

The two would love a quiet home with someone who wants to snuggle. They shouldn't go to a home with bigger dogs but if you have a dog, you can bring them in for a visitation with the poodles to see if they will get along. Cats will be fine and the preference is for older and more responsible children so that the pups don't get hurt, as they are senior citizens.

"The perfect home for them would be a quiet home that's not too active. Like I said, they're very social, so they could handle some visitors," she said. "They're very friendly, but I don't think that they would really enjoy any other dogs in the home."

Poodles need to be regularly groomed, and the prospective adopter will have to keep an eye on their health. Kyzer has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. This doesn't mean he is in bad health, as he could live a perfectly normal life, but he will need to be checked by a veterinary specialist routinely.

"Ideally, he would go to a home that could provide further health care with a specialist in cardiac care. And you know, he could very well live out the rest of his life comfortably and happy," Cyr said. "We just don't have all that information at the moment, but I think that you know the way he's going right now. He's got a good spirit, and he seems to be pretty happy."

The shelter is hoping the to get them a home for the holidays.

"We would love to get them a home in time for the holidays. They've been here since the eighth of November, and they're really, really looking as much as the staff loves them here, we're really looking to get them into a home and somewhere nice and cozy so they can spend the rest of their life together," she said.

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