Grand Silliness

[Mel Johnson]

And then there was Myra Kinch's delightful "Giselle's Revenge"....

[Marga]

.... Giselle saving Albrecht, which I never truly understood why - after all it was his deception that drove her to madness and death.....

Dear GeorgeB fan!

One must be (or have been) a very young girl deeply in love for the first and only time to understand why Giselle did what she did. You are analyzing that which cannot be analyzed.

[Helene]

Dear GeorgeB fan! 

One must be (or  have been) a very young girl deeply in love for the first and only time to understand why Giselle did what she did. You are analyzing that which cannot be analyzed.

And then there are some of us who were once very young girls who were deeply in love and still thought Giselle was a twit to save Albrecht.

[carbro]

Sorry to hear that, HF. My heart is still very tender for the earliest objects of my peri-adolescent affections, some 40+ years later.

One must be (or  have been) a very young girl deeply in love for the first and only time to understand why Giselle did what she did.

Ditto Juliet (and Romeo), which is why Shakespeare made them so young. Very few 23-y/o's would fail to see that life can continue without the beloved.

[GeorgeB fan]

This is fun! I had no idea that my simply suggestion of using Jerome Robbins' ballet The Cage as the second act of Giselle would created such a discussion! But since it has let me explain my reasons.

I think that Albrecht is one of classical ballets all-time creeps disguising as a hero. His a nobleman disguising himself as a peasant so he can get himself some - y'know - from an unexpecting peasant girl. A peasant girl with a bad heart. That's why her mother Berthe is so worried about her doing so much dancing. And Albrecht knows it - he's right there when Berthe mimes her concerns for her daughter, but that doesn't stop him! Nooo! And here we have Giselle, a sweet, gentle, innocent highly trusting person who allows herself to completely fell in love with "Loys". And if that is not bad enough - hello, Count Albrecht is engaged to be married to another women, which makes the creep a two-timer! And he's a coward too. When his future father-in-law and his daughter shows up for the first time he couldn't runaway fast enough. And his insensitive. When Bathilde and her father The Duke returns he quickly acknowledge them and for a few moments completely disregards Giselle. This is of course done in a very public place. Giselle is embarrass, humiliated made a complete fool of by Albrecht - it's no wonder the poor girl goes off the deep end and dies.

Which makes me always wonder why is it that Hilarion is viewed as the villian in the ballet. Yes he's gruff, rough around the edges but I also felt he truly loved Giselle. Some views his actions as selfish when he expose Albrecht. And that's maybe true. But I also feel he was trying to protect Giselle. I admit that alot of my feelings about Hilarion comes from former ABT's soloist John Gardner's performance as Hilarion. He always played him as a man truly in love Giselle and not so much as a villian. When he's killed in the second act I feel disappointed.

[carbro]

True enough, GBF, as far as you go. But Albrecht was not a 20th/21st Century guy governed by today's morality. I'm sure through his eyes, he had the droit du seigneur, surely nothing important enough to be considered two-timing by Bathilde. She was most likely selected as his bride by his parents. As a nobleman, he felt entitled to seduce the girl, never even considering until it was -- in every sense -- too late, that he might lose control of his emotions.

There is also an implicit religious message in this ballet. Lest we forget, Giselle's grave is marked by a cross. If the ultimate lessons of Christianity are forgiveness and redemption, they are right there in Act II.

[sandik]

And then there was Myra Kinch's delightful "Giselle's Revenge".... 

Is there anyone still around who knows some of the Kinch rep?

[Ostrich]

This discussion is starting to sound as if it belongs in the archives. Which reminds me that while I was browsing through the Swan Lake section, I hit on a silly season reason why Siegfried can't distinguish between Odette and Odile. Here's the conversation as he tries to apologise to Odette:

Odette: You Me Love Not.

Siegfried: I You Love. I Sorry.

Odette: You Me Betray Why?

Siegfried: Me, Eyes Shortsighted!

With the death themed programmes in mind:

(On the Dance Macabre by Sait Saents)

This dance of death which sounds so musically

Was sure intended for the corps de ballet.

Anon.

I borrowed this idea from mussel:

ALL BALANCHINE TRIBUTE TO ATHENS OLYMPIC GAMES:

Apollo

Orpheus in the Underworld

Afternoon of a Faun

And last, the PARADE OF THE DOLLS:

Petrushka

Coppelia

The Nutcracker

La Boutique Fantasque

Die Puppenfee

[Jane Simpson]

Just a few more triple bills, mostly suitable for companies with very wide-ranging repertoires:

HAPPY FAMILIES

Fall River Legend

Elektra

My Brother, My Sisters

TRAINSPOTTING

Le Train Bleu

Union Pacific

The Road of the Pheobe Snow

BUGS and THINGS

The Life of the Bee

The Spider's Banquet

Les Papillons

TRANSPORTS OF DELIGHT

Landrover

A Streetcar named Desire

Filling Station

THE CONCERT

Overture

Concerto

Symphony

WATER, WATER

Lake

The River

Ocean's Motion

and, picking up on Mme. Hermine's idea,

GROUNDHOG DAY

Carmen (Petit)

Carmen (Ek)

Carmen (Alonso)

[ConstanzaElisabeth]

how about a shakespeare marathon? at the end everyone is either dead(the dancers) or asleep(the audience)

[Guest Lady Fairy]

Goodness, Im still laughing sooooo hard over Perky's post....toooooo funny--you have just changed my rather poo day into something grander

I also like the idea of a Shakespear Marathon----it would not be a proper tragedy if the dancers did not all die at the end