8 replies to this topic

[Estelle]

Just near the Opera Garnier in Paris, there's a small square called "place Diaghilev". It made me wonder if there were other dance related names in Paris. I found a rue Balanchine in the 13th arrondissement (near the metro station Chevaleret)... and that's all. No other dancer or choreographer!

However, there are many streets with names of composers: for example, there's a Place Igor Stravinsky and a rue Adolphe Adam in the 4th arrondissement, a rue Tchaikovski in the 18th arrondissement, a rue Prokofiev and a rue Delibes in the 16th arrondissement, a rue Ravel in the 17th arrondissement... Also there's a rue Jacques Rouche (former director of the Paris Opera in the 30s) in the 9th arrondissement.

In Marseille, there's a rue Marius Petipa.

[Ann]

Estelle -

There's also a rue Massenet in the 9th Arondissement...

[cargill]

And of course in St. Petersburg there is Theatre Street.

[Estelle]

Is it common in NYC to have streets with the name of some people who're still alive (like Arthur Mitchell)? In France, usually people have to be dead for some time before their name is given to some streets (I don't know if it's a law, or just a habit). But I've read that there were some schools with names of living people (for example there's a Barbara Hendricks (?) junior high school...)

[Andrei]

Cargill, in St.Petersburg we have a Theatrical Square with Mariinsky Theatre and Conservatory on it. The real name of The Theatre Street(where Vaganova School) is The Street of Zodchy Rossi, who builded all this complex. And, unfortunately, not any streets with dancers or choreographers names on it in St.Petersburg, but a lot of composeres, so, opera lovers again won!
Andrei.

[Mel Johnson]

Estelle, I don't know about modern-day NYC, but they would be falling back on a fine old New York tradition to name streets after living folk.  To name only a few, Lispenard Street marks the former driveway of a wealthy family by that name, Houston Street is not named for the Texan hero, but for an early NYC Congressman whose house was at its end, and there is no Beach on Beach Street since Lewis Beach, the Congressman, changed districts and moved upstate.

[Manhattnik]

San Francisco has a street or alley named after Isadora Duncan. Too small for a Bugatti, I recall.