grace Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 surely someone has something to say about THIS: A Bulgarian ballerina who was sacked after appearing in a porn magazine says she is considering a naked protest in parliament.Maria Ilieva was sacked as dance director of ballet productions at the Sofia Opera House, after appearing topless in the latest Bulgarian edition of Playboy. to read (a little) more: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_797562.html Link to comment
Hans Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 (edited) Oddly enough, Grace, I'm actually speechless ! [Editing to add: Though considering what she did to be fired, I'm not sure such a protest would help her get her job back <_< .] Edited July 9, 2003 by Hans Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Well, Saint Francis of Assisi was brought up on charges, by his parents, no less, of being a vagrant. He demonstrated that he did have assets by taking off his robe in court. He did it another time in a courtroom, too. So, she's either a saint or she just likes to take her clothes off. Link to comment
nlkflint Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Don't you think that it is a sad commentary that she probably made (way) more money in a one day photo shoot than she did for a dance contract for the year? And don't I recall some comments about an ad campaign from one of the two NYC companies that was controversial recently due to the amout of "skin" showing? Skin sells. Art on the other hand.......... Link to comment
grace Posted July 9, 2003 Author Share Posted July 9, 2003 mel, an intriguing story about saint francis (my favorite saint... - tell me more?). Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 I don't have my Butler's Lives of the Saints handy, but my recollection of the first matter is that his wealthy parents wanted to snap L'il Frank out of this religious kick and pay for the cloth he had removed from the family shop to make vestments. Francis, already under a vow of poverty, simply took off his clothes and gave them back to his father in open court. The second is a little less clear in my recall, but it had to do with a city banning mendicant friars and demanding repayment of alms taken. Since the Franciscans had already distributed the alms in one form or another, Francis simply took off his clothes again and offered them to the court to sell. Link to comment
novamom Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Personally I think she showed great courage. I agree that her colleagues may be misguided in suggesting she shed her attire in court as a protest And I think whoever it was that fired her should get a life! Link to comment
atm711 Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 (edited) Mel, I remember a film about St. Francis called "Brother Moon and Sister Sun", or something like that in which the court scene was depicted. I think Bradford Dillman was St. Francis. Do you recall the film? As to the naked ballerina---well, as they say---as long as her actions don't upset the dogs. :sleep: Edited July 10, 2003 by atm711 Link to comment
Alexandra Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 I was struck by nkflint's comment: Don't you think that it is a sad commentary that she probably made (way) more money in a one day photo shoot than she did for a dance contract for the year? Yes. I can see the point that a theater wants its artists to maintain a standard of decorum of which they approve, but firing someone for off-duty behavior that isn't criminal seems a bit behind the times. Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Yes, I remember Brother Sun, Sister Moon, although not in its first run - I was in Korea and points south then. Graham Faulkner was a cute little St. Francis, and the sensibility that Franco Zeffirelli, the director, took, was to try to add "relevancy" to a character who needed no added relevancy. Sort of a Flower Power Saint. :shrug: Link to comment
grace Posted July 11, 2003 Author Share Posted July 11, 2003 a flower-power saint? : that'd be right for ME, mel! about this lady: i actually pondered over nlkflint's comment from a different point of view. mine is that it's a direct statement of the values of our cultures, that posing naked is "WORTH" MORE than all theyears of effort, dedication, pain and struggle which goes into creating a ballerina. interesting thought, isn't it? :shrug: Link to comment
K2356 Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Nude photos of ballet dancers have been done in the pass, the photographer Howard Schatz has done three books with nude photos of ballet dancers mostly from the San Franciso and Smuin (S.F.) ballets. Two of the books waterdance and pool light were photographed underwater freeing the nude ballet dancer from the effects of gravity, then Schatz also did Passion and Line. - I wonder if the carears of any of the above women and men dancers suffered negative effects posing nude for these photos.Modern dance performers are sometimes in the buff to express their art,but a nude ballet dancer is rare. kevin Link to comment
Pamela Moberg Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Poor girl, she wanted to make a buck or two, which she probably needed badly... Was that so bad now? There is a saying in Swedish - it is always impossible to translate such things literally, but here goes: "The shit always fall back upon those who threw it". With time it may well work out like that. In the meantime, I feel sorry for her and I hope it will turn out OK and she can forget this whole very sad business. :mondieu: Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 George Platt Lynes did a classic series of nude studies of Balanchine's "Orpheus" which seemed to have no ill effects on the careers of Maria Tallchief, Francisco Moncion, and Nicholas Magallanes. And that was in what - 1950? Link to comment
grace Posted July 12, 2003 Author Share Posted July 12, 2003 K2356 - the TUTU book of the australian ballet, by greg barrett, similarly included quite a few nude shots, if i recall correctly - BUT - as with mel's examples, these are quite a different matter to a centrefold in a men's mag, aren't they? the australian ballet also did some shots in a men's mag, of their dancers - but frankly, i didn't think they were very sexy, at all - the bodies were too thin, too angular, too hard-looking, the faces too frank, too purposeful...compared to what men 'usually' choose to look at, in that context. i'm not expressing an opinion, pro or con, about ballerinas in the buff - i really am not sure what to think... - but i know that any 'artistic' portrayal is really a completely different issue, to this lady's situation. Link to comment
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