sneds Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 Hi! I just got the 2004 ABT Calendar, and thought others might be interested in more information... As usual, all the photos are studio shots by Nancy Ellison. I think some are from/similar to those in her new book. However, I don't think their selection of photos was wise, given the people who are likely to be interested in the calendar. My guess is that the target audience would be women/girls and fans of ABT, but very few of the popular male dancers are pictured, and almost none of the dancers who were, for good reasons, most often used in ABT ad campaigns- no Corella, Bocca, Cornejo, Gomes or Stiefel. And no Gillian Murphy, who has filled a lot of seats in recent seasons. Also, given ABT's fairly diverse rep, the pictures covered a less than interesting range of ballets -perhaps because of needing permission to use pictures from certain ballets. Plus, while Ellison's photos are usually gorgeous, her choice of backgrounds often leaves something to be desired. Several shots were done against something that resembles a shiny, silver tarp-maybe OK for Fille mal Gardee, but totally inappropriate for "Eugene Onegin". And the photo of Carreno in a black costume was done against a dark blue backdrop, rendering him near invisible. It's one thing to have a less than ideal background in a performance shot, but if you're going to do studio shots, the background REALLY matters. Finally, the editors missed several glaring errors. It is Carlos MOLINA not Mollina and La Fille mal gardee not La Fille mal garde. The shot of Jose Manuel Carreno is from the Don Q PdD (done separately from the full length), NOT Swan Lake. Also, to be really picky, it's "Onegin" not "Eugene Onegin". Not that the calendar doesn't have some wonderful pictures, but it does make me go hmmm... It can't be easy putting together a calendar like this....so many factors...any ideas/commentary on what should be considered when choosing images for a ballet company calender? The cover is David Hallberg & Michelle Wiles in "Grand Pas Classique". Other dancers pictured: Paloma Herrera (Don Q PdD), Dvorovenko & Belotserkovsky (Swan Lake), Ferri (R&J), Ananiashvili (Les Sylphides), Tuttle (la Fille Mal Gardee), Hill & Kent (Manon), Riccetto (Bluebird PdD from Sleeping Beauty), Malakhov & Reyes (Le Corsaire), Molina & Jaffe ((Eugene) Onegin) and Peterson, Brown & De Luz (La Fille Mal Gardee). Cheers Kate Link to comment
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