John-Michael Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Does anyone know what Merril Ashley has been doing since her retirement? Link to comment
E Johnson Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Does anyone know what Merril Ashley has been doing since her retirement? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> the occasional guest appearance as Carabosse ! She's also still working at NYCB and the Balanchine Trust. Link to comment
Leigh Witchel Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 I believe she's been working pretty constantly both setting Balanchine's ballets on other companies (particularly Ballo della Regina) and teaching and coaching at NYCB. There's a long article I wrote in the current issue of Dance View that goes in depth into a coaching session for Ballo, and she also appeared as Madge in La Sylphide at Boston Ballet in March. Link to comment
allegromezzo18 Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 What are some of the other NYCB stars doing? What about Allegra Kent and Melisa Hayden? Link to comment
Hans Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Doesn't Melissa Hayden teach at NCSA? [snip] Link to comment
oberon Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 I see Merrill Ashley (and Sean Lavery) almost every time I go to NYC Ballet. They sit together near the rear of the orchestra and - I assume - go back during intermissions to tell the dancers what was good or bad about the performance they've just seen. Link to comment
Jack Reed Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 (edited) In my experience, she speaks about Balanchine with writer Nancy Goldner where she has been setting his ballets, both here in Chicago and in Miami Beach, sometimes talking about the ballets she sets and sometimes about others. Her and Goldner's remarks may be accompanied by dancing, or not. And sometimes Ashley gets up and demonstrates something, although she's wearing street clothes. Here's a couple of links to highlights of one of these speaking engagements:http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...17976&hl=Ashleyhttp://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...17975&hl=Ashley Edited December 23, 2013 by Jack Reed Link to comment
vipa Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 I just watched a lengthy interview with Merrill Ashley that was done last April. If you haven't see it, it has interesting insights into her career and working with both Balanchine & Robbins. Link to comment
Stage Right Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 Vipa, thank you so much for posting that interview with Merrill! It is wonderful, so rich with details and experiences. I enjoyed it tremendously, and will certainly watch it again. Really appreciate it. Link to comment
vipa Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 Vipa, thank you so much for posting that interview with Merrill! It is wonderful, so rich with details and experiences. I enjoyed it tremendously, and will certainly watch it again. Really appreciate it. My pleasure. It's rare to see an interview this long or in depth. I enjoyed the whole thing. The input that her husband had in her development as a dancer was something I didn't expect. Link to comment
Drew Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 I was just typing as Vipa posted again. Writing to say that I also enjoyed (and learned from) this interview. Thank you for posting. Link to comment
dirac Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Thank you for posting, vipa. Much of the material through the death of Balanchine will be familiar to those who have read Ashley's excellent book, but I didn't mind hearing it again. I was struck by what she said about doing unfamiliar Balanchine ballets after his death - that she had a few questions only he could answer and without him there she had to manage as best she could. For some things, not even the most dedicated curation can compensate for the loss of the maker of the dance, I gather. She also talks about the trauma of retirement. Very good interview. Link to comment
bart Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I agree with dirac: "A very good interview." Thanks, vipa. It was worth taking the time to watch it all the way through. Ashley is intelligent, articulate, and very charming. I was struck by something she said about Balanchine's willingness (at times) to adjust his choreography to suit the strengths and weaknesses of different dancers: I think, from my point of view, there are times when a step just doesn't suit a specific dancer ... And he would change the step. It's good to know that coaches and advocates like Ashley, those who actually worked with Balanchine in the creation and performance of his choreography, are still around. I guess it's time to re-read Dancing for Balanchine Link to comment
DanielBenton Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 As Ms. Ashley rightly points out, Balanchine-trained coaches just cannot entirely replicate what Balanchine did now that he is gone. Balanchine understood "families of gestures" [i think this is a paraphrase of what he said]. Thus he could substitute one gesture for another to suit a particular dancer. No one else can do that. Link to comment
dirac Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Ashley says in her book, and also (with less detail) in the interview, that Balanchine would not necessarily change steps right away. Often he would want the dancer to try to overcome the obstacle, and only after demonstrated effort would he resort to changing the step. In the interview she mentions McBride as the big turner, but in the book she wrote specifically of her troubles with Marnee Morris' variation in "Who Cares?" Link to comment
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