New York City ballets open rehearsals.

[Wolfe]

There is a blog post that might be of some interest in New York City ballet fans.  The writer attended the open dress rehearsals of Susan Stroman's Double Feature.  The audience seemed to really enjoy watching the dancers rehearse.  You can read the full post here.

On a wintry Wednesday afternoon, thousands discovered that New York City Ballet principal dancer Maria Kowroski wears flared purple legwarmers.
These 2,500 ballet fans were the fortunate percentage of the rumored 10,000 who had, two weeks earlier, swamped a special ticketing Web page that New York City Ballet had set up for fans to attend two open dress rehearsals of Susan Stroman’s Double Feature, a Broadway-style romp of a ballet. Another 2,500 would attend a second act rehearsal the following day. The site had opened for business at 9:00 a.m. It crashed at 9:01, unable to cope with the traffic, and after some adjustments by the City Ballet’s tech team, re-opened at 11:30 a.m. Minutes later, both shows sold out.

[snowbak]

I think this is a great idea. Show people what really happens. It makes it more human, more accessible. Too many people have the idea that ballet is for the people who can understand it, almost an elitist thing. I think the more we can bring it to all levels, the better. Old, young, rich, poor, doesn't matter, just put people in the seats!