65 replies to this topic

[Mme. Hermine]

do they have to be alive? i always thought agnes demille beautifully articulate.

[Klavier]

If blogging qualifies (the topic was "verbally articulate," not necessarily "orally articulate"), then ABT's Matthew Murphy should get a nod for his often witty and hilarious "Ranting Details."

[printscess]

Peter Boal of PNB and Christopher Stowell of Oregon Ballet Theatre come to mind. They both are very pro-active in getting the local community involved and interested in ballet by making ballet more accessible and understandable.

[SanderO]

I attended a talk at the Met this Spring with Alessandra Ferri who I thought was intelligent, well spoken and had interesting insights about her work as a dancer. She says she's a New Yorker now, but she still has her Italian sensibility.  She has a lot to say and says it well.

[Ray]

At Jacob's Pillow last month, I saw an interview with Freddie Franklin, whom I've always found to be very articulate, if not quite as reflective about the profession as I would like.  

Maria Tallchief is also surprisingly candid and down-to-earth in interviews.  (In "real life" I'd use another, less kind word.)

Christopher Wheeldon also seems good at talking about his own choreographic process.

[printscess]

Ray, on Aug 17 2007, 12:08 PM, said:

At Jacob's Pillow last month, I saw an interview with Freddie Franklin, whom I've always found to be very articulate, if not quite as reflective about the profession as I would like.  

Maria Tallchief is also surprisingly candid and down-to-earth in interviews.  (In "real life" I'd use another, less kind word.)

Christopher Wheeldon also seems good at talking about his own choreographic process.

How old is Maria Tallchief?

[drb]

Lauren Grant, an NYU graduate who is the 4' 11" lead female dancer in Mark Morris's Mozart Dances, addresses the issue of a dancer being verbally articulate in her current lengthy Time Out New York interview.  To quote in part:

Quote

He’s challenged me in how I speak and in what I do:
He’s a very curious, knowledgeable person and he’s
helped to guide me to be more curious and
knowledgeable. To read more and to be interested in a
world where there’s more than just dance. Because I
really did have blinders on growing up, as bunheads
sometimes do.

Asked how he changed the way she speaks, Ms. Grant answered:

Quote

[Laughs] There’s a lot of hazing that goes on. Little
things like if you’re in class or in rehearsal and you say,
“Can I ask a question?” He’ll say, “You just did.” Or if
you start everything with, “Um.…” He points these little
habits out. He makes you notice those things, and if you
care you start to change the way you speak.
Sometimes it’s very demoralizing and upsetting, but it
can be helpful. He’s brutally honest. But he wants us to
grow as dancers and as people. He likes to be a
mentor. He wants to have interesting, intelligent people
in his company because he needs someone to be
interesting to him.

[canbelto]

Tamara Karsavina and Ninette di Valois. From what I've seen in documentaries, Elisabeth Platel.

[carbro]

drb, on Aug 17 2007, 01:13 PM, said:

Lauren Grant, an NYU graduate who is the 4' 11" lead female dancer in Mark Morris's Mozart Dances, addresses the issue of a dancer being verbally articulate in her current lengthy Time Out New York interview.  To quote in part:

Quote

He likes to be a mentor. He wants to have interesting, intelligent people in his company because he needs someone to be interesting to him.

I think the audience does, as well.  It can be fun to see a particular dancer do amazing things with her/his body, but over the long term, if s/he doesn't have anything to communicate, s/he becomes boring.

[bart]

drb's post about lauren grant reminded me just how super-articulate Mark Morris himself is.  It's good to see he encourages it in his dancers.

I love the element of enlightened self-interest on Morris's part:

Quote

He wants to have interesting, intelligent people in his company because he needs someone to be
interesting to him.

pmeja, on Aug 17 2007, 09:31 AM, said:

do they have to be alive? i always thought agnes demille beautifully articulate.

Not to mention that she was one of show business's all-time charmers, who could schmooze and seduce with the very best.

[carbro]

My mother was in New York Hospital when Ms. DeMille was admitted after her stroke.  They were on the same floor.  Even deprived of her power of speech (which she recovered), she was able to raise holy hell, to the great distress of both patients and staff.    That's articulate!



Well, wouldn't you?

[Alina]

Quote

How old is Maria Tallchief?

82

[winky]

Absolutely Agnes DeMille.

That woman had a brilliant mind and an ability to understand why dancers dance better than anyone.

[sylvia]

From a couple of masterclasses, I found Sarah Lamb to be intelligent and wonderfully articulate, with a huge vocabulary and an eagerness to share her views on dancing. I loved hearing about how she tries to translate what she is feeling or trying to say, into what we actually see.

From insight days at the Royal Ballet, I've generally found dancers and their coaches very interesting to listen to. You do find though, after a few years of talks and masterclasses, that they do tend to recycle a lot of anecdotes.

I guess language barriers get in the way sometimes too. But not with Sylvie Guillem - she's so keenly intelligent from the few times I've heard her speak about dance.

[Hans]

Margot Fonteyn.