4 replies to this topic

[Alexandra]

Thanks for posting this, Barb.  For me, this is one of the, if not the, central issue in ballet today (artistically speaking, anyway).

From what I know, rehearsals at many companies are, let's just say, not what they once were.  Partly for reasons of time -- 500 ballets in five weeks, seven casts in seven days -- and partly because one of ballet's dirty little secrets is that dancers learn the roles from videotapes (the wisdom/efficacy of which is a whole 'nother discussion) and get little or not -- or often just plain wrong -- coaching.  

I'm sure there are exceptions.

Alexandra

[Alexandra]

Thanks for posting this, Barb.  For me, this is one of the, if not the, central issue in ballet today (artistically speaking, anyway).

From what I know, rehearsals at many companies are, let's just say, not what they once were.  Partly for reasons of time -- 500 ballets in five weeks, seven casts in seven days -- and partly because one of ballet's dirty little secrets is that dancers learn the roles from videotapes (the wisdom/efficacy of which is a whole 'nother discussion) and get little or not -- or often just plain wrong -- coaching.  

I'm sure there are exceptions.

Alexandra

[Natalia]

The big exception to the "too-little rehearsal time" rule is, of course, Russia, particularly in the major "State" opera & ballet theaters.  At the Kirov, the season is long and the number of ballets staged in a given season is relatively small.  The corps have a luxury of time in which to be "drilled" in the classics. Soloists are assigned their very own coaches-repetiteurs, to fine-tune specific roles.  

I would think that the situation is similar at the paris Opera Ballet? I may be wrong, but that seems to be another big "monolith" of a state-run ballet troupe (and one of the finest).  

[Natalia]

The big exception to the "too-little rehearsal time" rule is, of course, Russia, particularly in the major "State" opera & ballet theaters.  At the Kirov, the season is long and the number of ballets staged in a given season is relatively small.  The corps have a luxury of time in which to be "drilled" in the classics. Soloists are assigned their very own coaches-repetiteurs, to fine-tune specific roles.  

I would think that the situation is similar at the paris Opera Ballet? I may be wrong, but that seems to be another big "monolith" of a state-run ballet troupe (and one of the finest).  

[Estelle]

I don't know about the rehearsal times at the Paris Opera,
but Delphine Baey, a soloist with whom I'm corresponding, recently
complained that they sometimes didn't feel trained enough (they were shown the videos and had to
manage to understand it alone), especially when they're dancing pieces with
a non-classic style (Graham, Bausch, etc.)